<P> For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, all eligible nations--the 209 FIFA member associations minus automatically qualified hosts Russia--applied to enter the qualifying process . Zimbabwe and Indonesia were later disqualified before playing their first matches, while Gibraltar and Kosovo, who joined FIFA on 13 May 2016 after the qualifying draw but before European qualifying had begun, also entered the competition . Places in the tournament were allocated to continental confederations, with the allocation unchanged from the 2014 World Cup . The first qualification game, between Timor - Leste and Mongolia, began in Dili on 12 March 2015 as part of the AFC's qualification, and the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, on 25 July 2015 . </P> <P> Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2014 . Both Iceland and Panama qualified for the first time, with the former becoming the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup . Other teams returning after absences of at least three tournaments include: Egypt, returning to the finals after their last appearance in 1990; Morocco, who last competed in 1998; Peru, returning after 1982; and Senegal, competing for the second time after reaching the quarter - finals in 2002 . It is the first time three Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland and Sweden) and four Arab nations (Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia) have qualified for the World Cup . </P> <P> Notable countries that failed to qualify include four - time champions Italy (for the first time since 1958), three - time runners - up and third placed in 2014 the Netherlands (for the first time since 2002), and four reigning continental champions: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon, two - time Copa América champions and 2017 Confederations Cup runners - up Chile, 2016 OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions United States (for the first time since 1986). The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Ghana and Ivory Coast, who had both made the previous three tournaments . </P> <P> Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the tournament . </P>

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