The UEFA group phase was drawn in St Petersburg, Russia, on SAT 25 JUL 2015.

The most challenging group looks to be Group A, featuring the Netherlands, France, and Sweden. Spain and Italy square off in Group G, whilst defending champion Germany meet the Czech Rep and Northern Ireland in Group C. England and Scotland were paired together in Group F with Slovakia and Slovenia.

The first placed team in each group qualifies for Russia 2018. The second placed team with the worst record is eliminated, and the other eight reach the playoffs, where four more qualification places are available.

• Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
• Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Is, Latvia, Andorra
• Group C: Germany, Czech Rep, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
• Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Ireland Rep, Moldova, Georgia
• Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan
• Group F: England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta
• Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia FYR, Liechtenstein
• Group H: Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
• Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland