Postpublished at 19:38 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Yes John! All aboard the Iceland bandwagon?
Summary
Portugal leading 2-0 vs Switzerland and will win Group B if it stays the same
France 2-1 up against Belarus and heading for the World Cup
Netherlands lead Sweden 2-0 but must win by seven goals to reach play-offs
Argentina face key match at 00:30 BST
Get involved: Who would make a world XI of players not going to the World Cup? #bbcfootball
Postpublished at 19:38 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Teamwork makes the dream workpublished at 19:38 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
#bbcfootball or 81111 on text
Messi, Ronaldo and Bale not at the World Cup may be a marketing disaster but football is a team game not a one-man show. Maybe in Russia 2018 we can look forward to - and rejoice in - some great collaborative team efforts?
John
'We'll beat them as well'published at 19:37 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Wales 0-1 Republic of Ireland
BBC Radio 5 liveRepublic of Ireland defender Cyrus Christie: “We will take whoever we come up against, go into the game positive and confident. After the game the gaffer said who we could play and someone said 'we'll beat them as well.'
"We have a lot of confidence, we are a tough team to play against, keep clean sheets, we kept six or seven in the campaign, we know our strengths and weaknesses."
Image source, Getty ImagesWho is in the play-offs?published at 19:36 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Image source, Getty ImagesEight of the nine runners up will head into the two-legged play-offs next month, with four World Cup places up for grabs in total.
We know five of the teams for sure already.
Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland are there. Who will join them?
get involved Get Involvedpublished at 19:33 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Which players would you miss at the World Cup?
Image source, EPAYogesh Vengurlekar: Messi and Argentina as a team would be missed. They add flavour to the event. Imagine playing cricket World Cup without India in it.
Ian AKA Ian: I care about the players that go, not the ones that don't. The beauty of it is watching the variety that qualified.
Tweet us your suggestions via #bbcfootball or write on the Match of the Day Facebook, external page.
How they stand - Group Bpublished at 19:31 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
It is very straight-forward in Group B. If Portugal win at home against Switzerland then they qualify, any other result will take the Swiss through and leave Portugal in the play-offs.
Image source, .How they stand - Group Apublished at 19:27 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
France's fate is in their own hands - a win at home against Belarus and they are through. France can still qualify as group winners if they draw or lose, as long as the Netherlands beat Sweden.
If France lose, Sweden will overtake them with a draw against the Dutch.
For the Netherlands to earn a play-off spot, they need to beat Sweden by a seven-goal margin.
- France v Belarus
- Luxembourg v Bulgaria
- Netherlands v Sweden
Image source, .Team newspublished at 19:27 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Netherlands v Sweden (19:45 BST)
The Dutch have got plenty of names familiar to Premier League fans in their starting XI. Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake, Daley Blind, Vincent Janssen, Gini Wijnaldum and amazingly Ryan Babel are all in from the start.
Over to you captain Arjen Robben...
Image source, Getty ImagesWhat do the Dutch need?published at 19:23 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Netherlands v Sweden (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesA miracle.
The Dutch cannot win Group A but could sneak into the play-offs with a win by seven goals tonight...
What do Sweden need?published at 19:18 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Netherlands v Sweden (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesSweden must better France's result against Belarus to swoop in and win Group A.
They could afford to lose by six goals and still take a play-off spot by finishing second.
What do France need?published at 19:17 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
France v Belarus (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesFrance have guaranteed a top-two finish in Group and at worst a place in the play-offs.
Win tonight and they win the group.
Failing that, they need to match whatever Sweden do against the Netherlands to clinch first place and automatic qualification.
Team newspublished at 19:17 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Portugal v Switzerland (19:45 BST)
Image source, ReutersCristiano Ronaldo captains Portugal in Lisbon, with Manchester City man Bernardo Silva also in the line-up alongside West Ham defender Jose Fonte.
The Swiss have Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri and former Arsenal man Johan Djourou in their starting XI.
What do Switzerland need?published at 19:11 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Portugal v Switzerland (19:45 BST)
Image source, ReutersThe Swiss have won every game in qualifying so far but still could miss out. Crazy.
Switzerland will be top of the group if they win or draw against Portugal tonight.
A flat back 10?
What do Portugal need?published at 19:08 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Portugal v Switzerland (19:45 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesWin tonight and Portugal win the group. It's as easy as that.
They would top Group B on goal difference.
The dream is over for Syriapublished at 19:07 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Australia 2-1 Syria (AET)
Syria's unlikely 2018 World Cup dream is over after Tim Cahill's extra-time header saw Australia progress 3-2 on aggregate to the final qualifying tie.
Omar Al Somah gave the civil war-torn nation hope of reaching Russia when he gave them an early lead in Sydney.
But Cahill, 37, quickly equalised with the first of his two headed goals.
Syria, who drew 1-1 in the first leg, were reduced to 10 men when Mahmoud Al Mawas was sent off before Cahill nodded in Robbie Kruse's cross for the winner.
Australia will now play either Panama, Honduras or the US from the Concacaf section for a place in the finals.
The unmissablespublished at 19:06 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
#bbcfootball or 81111 on text
Gareth Bale's not there. Lionel Messi might not be. Cristiano Ronaldo might not be.
Which players would you be most disappointed not to see in Russia next summer?
Who do you tune in to see? Who deserves a place on football's top table?
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, No Pirlo, no party?
Let us know on #bbcfootball or text in to 81111 (UK Only, name on please)
Tonight's key gamespublished at 19:04 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Image source, EPAPortugal, Switzerland, France and Sweden can all still qualify automatically tonight. We'll explain just how in a moment.
These are the key games in Europe:
Portugal v Switzerland (19:45 BST)
France v Belarus (19:45 BST)
Netherlands v Sweden (19:45 BST)
Greece v Gibraltar (19:45 BST)
A World Cup without these two?published at 19:00 British Summer Time 10 October 2017
Unthinkable. Isn't it?
Image source, Getty ImagesA World Cup without Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is the stuff of nightmares for marketing departments around the globe.
But it's a possibility heading into tonight's final group games in Europe and in South America.
Image source, Getty ImagesBoth Ronaldo's Portugal and Messi's Argentina have made hard work of their qualification groups so far, but could still make it through by the end of the night.
We'll be there every step of the way.