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.[1][2]
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.
| 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):[3]
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
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|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.[1][4] Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).[5]
| Albania | 2–1[note 2] | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
 89' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) Report (MacedonianFootball) |
|
Attendance: 14,667
Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey)
| Israel | 1–3 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
31' (pen.) 83' |
Attendance: 29,300
Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)
| Spain | 8–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
55' 59', 90+1' 60' 82', 83' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 12,139
Referee: Simon Lee Evans (Wales)
| Italy | 1–1 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 38,470
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
| Liechtenstein | 0–2 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
71' |
Attendance: 5,864
Referee: Tamás Bognar (Hungary)
| Macedonia | 1–2 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) Report (MacedonianFootball) |
43' |
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: Andre Marriner (England)
| Israel | 2–1 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Clayton Pisani (Malta)
| Albania | 0–2 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
63' |
Attendance: 15,245
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)
| Macedonia | 2–3 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
59' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
75', 90+2' |
Attendance: 19,195
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
| Albania | 0–3 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
66' 83' |
Attendance: 7,600
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)
| Liechtenstein | 0–4 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
12' 32' |
Attendance: 5,864
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
| Spain | 4–0 | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
|
63' 84' 85' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 16,622
Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria)
| Italy | 2–0 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
|
71' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 33,136
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
| Liechtenstein | 0–3 | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
68', 73' |
Attendance: 4,517
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)
| Spain | 4–1 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
45+1' 51' 88' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 20,321
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
| Israel | 0–3 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
71' |
Attendance: 15,150
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)
| Italy | 5–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
52' 75' 83' 90+1' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 20,514
Referee: Kevin Clancy (Scotland)
| Macedonia | 1–2 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
27' |
Attendance: 20,675
| Albania | 2–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
78' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Sergey Lapochkin (Russia)
| Israel | 0–1 | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 11,350
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)
| Spain | 3–0 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
77' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 73,628
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
| Italy | 1–0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 15,507
Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
| Liechtenstein | 0–8 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
15', 54' 16' 39' 51', 63' 89' (o.g.) |
Attendance: 5,864
Referee: Ivaylo Stoyanov (Bulgaria)
| Macedonia | 1–1 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 3,493
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
| Italy | 1–1 | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 22,603
Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
| Liechtenstein | 0–1 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 3,498
Referee: Arnold Hunter (Northern Ireland)
| Spain | 3–0 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
24' 27' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 25,397
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)
| Albania | 0–1 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 14,718
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
| Israel | 0–1 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
|
Attendance: 28,700
Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland)
| Macedonia | 4–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
38' 67' 69' |
Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Attendance: 4,518
Referee: Laurent Kopriwa (Luxembourg)
There were 93 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.1 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
Isco Álvaro Morata David Silva4 goals
Ilija Nestorovski Vitolo3 goals
Tomer Hemed Antonio Candreva Aleksandar Trajkovski2 goals
Odise Roshi Tal Ben Haim II Daniele De Rossi Iago Aspas1 goal
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 Thiago1 own goal
Maximilian Göppel (against Spain) Peter Jehle (against Albania) Darko Velkovski (against Spain)A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[9]
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 | 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 | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Italy (12 November 2016)
| ||
| 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 | vs Spain (9 October 2016) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017)
| ||
| Odise Roshi | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Macedonia (5 September 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 | |||
| Marcel Büchel | Liechtenstein |
vs Israel (9 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017) |
vs Macedonia (9 October 2017) |
| Franz Burgmeier | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017)
| ||
| Nicolas Hasler | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) vs Israel (6 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 | vs Macedonia (11 June 2017) vs Albania (6 October 2017)
|
