What Spain needs to happen to finish in World Cup top seedings

Spain did what they needed to do in Israel - a single goal victory allbeit in a less than enthralling match - however to be one of the eight seeded teams that go into Pot 1 for the World Cup Finals draw they need results to go their way in the final fixtures of qualifying.

Permutations for World Cup top seeding

Poland's win over Montenegro made it more difficult for Julen Lopetegui's men to avoid being put alongside another heavyweight in the footballing world for next summer's tournament, but with 1,218 points in the Fifa rankings still have a chance. Wales' loss to the Republic of Ireland, meaning no place at the finals for Gareth Bale's national side, did help somewhat and now the Spanish require four of the following scenarios to play out.

— France do not win against Belarus (Tuesday 10 Oct, 20:45 CEST)

— Switzerland do not win against Portugal (Tuesday 10 Oct, 20:45 CEST)

— Portugal do not qualify for World Cup 2018

— Chile do not win against Brazil (Wednesday 11 Oct, 01:30 CEST)

— Peru do not win against Colombia (Wednesday 11 Oct, 01:30 CEST)

— Argentina do not qualify for World Cup 2018

Potential group rivals for Spain

If the results do not go the way of the Spanish national side they will be drawn as one of the eight second seeds and could therefore see one of Russia, Brazil, Germany or Poland in their group next summer. Other candidates who could still finish as part of the top seedings are: Argentina, France, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile and Peru.

The draw for World Cup 2018 in Russia will take place on 1 December 2017 in the Kremlin, Moscow.

Maximum points attainable by national team

Germany, Brazil, Polond and the hosts Russia have already qualified as one of the top seeds for World Cup 2018. Belgium have qualified for the finals but their place as a top seed is still not confirmed.

Source: Mr. Chip.