World Cup 2018 play-offs: How do they work, who is playing and when are the fixtures?

EIGHT European nations are left in the qualifying process as the road to Russia 2018 nears its conclusion.

After ten qualifying games over two years, those who didn’t finish top of their group will face the play-offs to see who is getting on the plane, and who isn’t.

BET £10 GET A FREE £30 BET WITH SUN BETS

Sportsfile - Subscription

With England safely through but Scotland and Wales agonisingly missing out, bot Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remain in with a shout.

Getty Images - Getty

How do the play-offs work?

AFTER the group stages, the eight teams that finished second in their respective tables went into a draw.

From that we now have four fixtures, to be held over two legs – with the country that finished with a better points total gaining home advantage second time round.

The four winners will all advance to next summer’s World Cup in Russia.

Reuters

Which teams have made it?

SPARE a thought for Slovakia, who were the ninth best runner-up and therefore haven’t made it to the play-offs.

The teams that have are Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, Italy, Croatia, Republic of Ireland and Denmark.

What are the fixtures?

Northern Ireland v Switzerland (Thursday Nov 9 & Sunday Nov 12)
Croatia v Greece (Thursday Nov 9 & Sunday Nov 12)
Sweden v Italy (Friday Nov 10 & Monday Nov 13)
Denmark v Republic of Ireland (Saturday Nov 11 & Tuesday Nov 14)