# 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group G was one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, and Liechtenstein.
The draw for the first round (group stage) was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The group winners, Spain, qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Italy, advanced to the play-offs as one of the best eight runners-up.

## Standings

* 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
* In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):
* Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
* Overall goal difference
* Overall goals scored
* Points in matches between tied teams
* Goal difference in matches between tied teams
* Goals scored in matches between tied teams
* Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
* Fair play points
* first yellow card: minus 1 point
* indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
* direct red card: minus 4 points
* yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
* Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | |
| 1 | Spain | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | +33 | 28 | Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 8–0 |
| 2 | Italy | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 23 | Advance to second round | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| 3 | Albania | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 13 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| 4 | Israel | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 12 | | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| 5 | Macedonia | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 11 | | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 |
| 6 | Liechtenstein | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 39 | −38 | 0 | | 0–8 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — |

## Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw. Times are CET/CEST, as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).

## Goalscorers

There were 93 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.1 goals per match.
6 goals
* Ciro Immobile
5 goals
* Diego Costa
* Isco
* Álvaro Morata
* David Silva
4 goals
* Andrea Belotti
* Ilija Nestorovski
* Vitolo
3 goals
* Armando Sadiku
* Tomer Hemed
* Antonio Candreva
* Aleksandar Trajkovski
2 goals
* Bekim Balaj
* Odise Roshi
* Tal Ben Haim II
* Daniele De Rossi
* Iago Aspas
1 goal
* Ansi Agolli
* Ledian Memushaj
* Eliran Atar
* Dan Einbinder
* Lior Refaelov
* Eytan Tibi
* Eran Zahavi
* Federico Bernardeschi
* Giorgio Chiellini
* Éder
* Manolo Gabbiadini
* Lorenzo Insigne
* Graziano Pellè
* Maximilian Göppel
* Arijan Ademi
* Ezgjan Alioski
* Enis Bardhi
* Ferhan Hasani
* Visar Musliu
* Boban Nikolov
* Goran Pandev
* Stefan Ristovski
* Aritz Aduriz
* Asier Illarramendi
* Nacho Monreal
* Nolito
* Sergio Ramos
* Sergi Roberto
* Rodrigo
* Thiago
1 own goal
* Maximilian Göppel (against Spain)
* Peter Jehle (against Albania)
* Darko Velkovski (against Spain)

## Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:
* Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
* Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:
| Player | Team | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
| Giorgio Chiellini | Italy | vs Israel (5 September 2016) | vs Spain (6 October 2016) |
| Eytan Tibi | Israel | vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (9 October 2016) |
| Marco Parolo | Italy | vs Spain (6 October 2016) vs Macedonia (9 October 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (12 November 2016) |
| Nicolas Hasler | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Israel (9 October 2016) | vs Italy (12 November 2016) |
| Etrit Berisha | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Israel (11 June 2017) |
| Berat Djimsiti | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) | vs Italy (24 March 2017) |
| David Goresh | Israel | vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) vs Albania (12 November 2016) | vs Spain (24 March 2017) |
| Daniel Kaufmann | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Italy (12 November 2016) | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) |
| Yves Oehri | Liechtenstein | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Italy (12 November 2016) | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) |
| Ezgjan Alioski | Macedonia | vs Italy (9 October 2016) vs Spain (12 November 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (24 March 2017) |
| Ansi Agolli | Albania | vs Spain (9 October 2016) vs Italy (24 March 2017) | vs Israel (11 June 2017) |
| Michele Polverino | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Italy (11 June 2017) | vs Albania (2 September 2017) |
| Leonardo Bonucci | Italy | vs Spain (6 October 2016) vs Spain (2 September 2017) | vs Israel (5 September 2017) |
| Elif Elmas | Macedonia | vs Spain (11 June 2017) vs Israel (2 September 2017) | vs Albania (5 September 2017) |
| Burim Kukeli | Albania | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | vs Spain (6 October 2017) |
| Mërgim Mavraj | Albania | vs Spain (9 October 2016) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | vs Spain (6 October 2017) |
| Odise Roshi | Albania | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | vs Spain (6 October 2017) |
| Almog Cohen | Israel | vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) vs Italy (5 September 2017) | vs Liechtenstein (6 October 2017) |
| Kire Ristevski | Macedonia | vs Spain (11 June 2017) vs Albania (5 September 2017) | vs Italy (6 October 2017) |
| Sergio Busquets | Spain | vs Italy (6 October 2016) vs Liechtenstein (5 September 2017) | vs Albania (6 October 2017) |
| Azdren Llullaku | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) vs Spain (6 October 2017) | vs Italy (9 October 2017) |
| Taulant Xhaka | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) vs Spain (6 October 2017) | vs Italy (9 October 2017) |
| Marcel Büchel | Liechtenstein | vs Israel (9 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | vs Macedonia (9 October 2017) |
| Franz Burgmeier | Liechtenstein | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | vs Macedonia (9 October 2017) |
| Nicolas Hasler | Liechtenstein | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | vs Macedonia (9 October 2017) |
| Stefan Spirovski | Macedonia | vs Italy (9 October 2016) vs Italy (6 October 2017) | vs Liechtenstein (9 October 2017) |
| Gerard Piqué | Spain | vs Italy (6 October 2016) vs Albania (6 October 2017) | vs Israel (9 October 2017) |
| David Silva | Spain | vs Macedonia (11 June 2017) vs Albania (6 October 2017) | vs Israel (9 October 2017) |