Here is the third batch of the national football teams who won their respective confederation qualifying matches (or who became runner ups) from October 9 to October 10, 2017 and grabbed a spot to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Iceland

Previous Appearances: None (debut)

Iceland are heading to their first World Cup after victory over Kosovo on 9 October secured their place in Russia. This is clearly a golden era for the Icelanders after they reached Euro 2016, where they memorably defeated England in their second-round tie before losing 5-2 against hosts France in the quarter-finals.

Iceland qualified once for the finals of a FIFA World Cup, the 2018 edition. They directly qualified after securing the first spot in their qualifying group on the final round. This meant that after 12 failed qualification campaigns, Iceland would appear at the World Cup for the first time in their history, and appear at only their second major international tournament, after qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016 two years earlier.

Iceland will also be one of the two smallest nations to reach the World Cup finals.

Serbia

Previous Appearances: 11 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010) Fourth place (1930, 1962)

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be Serbia’s 12th appearance, they did not get beyond the group stage in 2006 and 2010.

From the 1930 FIFA World Cup to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Serbia was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which competed in the world cup. From the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Serbia played with Kosovo and Montenegro. From 2006 to the present, Serbia played as an independent country. After the dissolution of the SFRY, Serbia has not made it past the knockout stages.

Portugal

Previous Appearances: 6 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) Third place (1966)

Portugal are the reigning European champions, having beaten hosts France 1-0 in the final of Euro 2016. Their best performance at a World Cup came when they finished third in 1966 and they also reached the semi-finals in 2006 yet failed to make it out of the group phase in Brazil in 2014.

France

Previous Appearances: 14 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) Winners (1998)

France won the World Cup when they hosted the tournament in 1998 and also reached the final eight years later, losing on penalties to Italy. They reached the quarter-finals in Brazil in 2014 and were runners-up as hosts at Euro 2016.

Uruguay

Previous Appearances: 12 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010, 2014) Winners (1930, 1950)

Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930 and then again in 1950, but they only reached the last 16 at Brazil 2014.

Uruguay has won two FIFA World Cups, including the first ever World Cup in 1930 as hosts, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match. The team has qualified for 12 World Cups, reaching the second round in all but three, the semifinals five times and the finals twice. They also won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. They also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions hosted in Uruguay in 1980 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup. Uruguay is one of the most successful teams in the world, having won 19 official titles: 2 FIFA World Cup, 2 Olympic Games and 15 Copa América.

Uruguay refused to participate in 1934 and defend their title because many European nations declined to take part in 1930 held in Uruguay. And also Uruguay refused to enter in 1938 because FIFA’s decision during the celebration of the 1936 Summer Olympics to hold the tournament in France caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents.

Argentina

Previous Appearances: 16 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) Winners (1978, 1986)

Argentina have won the World Cup twice – in 1978 and 1986 – and been runners-up on three occasions, in 1930, 1990 and in Brazil in 2014, when they lost 1-0 to Germany in the final.

Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, having won 2 World Cups in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has been runners up three times in the 1930, 1990 and 2014. The team was present in all but four of the World Cups, being behind only Brazil, Italy and Germany in number of appearances. Argentina has also won the Copa América 14 times, one less than Uruguay. Moreover, Argentina has also won the Confederations Cup and the gold medal at the Olympic football tournament in 2004 and 2008. Prior to that occasion Argentina had obtained two silver medals in the 1928 and 1996 editions. On other levels of international competition Argentina has won the FIFA U-20 World Cup a record six times. The FIFA U-17 World Cup is the only FIFA international competition yet to be obtained.

Colombia

Previous Appearances: 5 (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2014) Quarter-finals (2014)

Colombia produced their best ever performance at a World Cup in Brazil in 2014 when they reached the quarter-finals, before losing 2-1 to hosts Brazil.

Panama

Previous Appearances: None (debut)

Panama reached their first World Cup finals with a victory over Costa Rica that took advantage of the United States’ defeat to Trinidad & Tobago. They were runners-up at Concacaf’s Gold Cup in 2013.