A total of 20 teams which had advanced from the second round were drawn into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 24 June 2016, 17:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[1]
The seedings – initially released on 8 June 2016 – were based on a special edition of the FIFA World Rankings that included all matches up to 7 June 2016. This allowed the rankings to include results of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification games played between 3–5 June 2016.[2] However, following a complaint by the Egyptian Football Association, it was reported that a further special ranking would be used.[3] This seeding was released on 21 June.[4] Following further complaints,[5] the Emergency Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers reversed the change, and restored the initial special rankings.[6]
Pot 1 contained the teams ranked 1–5.
Pot 2 contained the teams ranked 6–10.
Pot 3 contained the teams ranked 11–15.
Pot 4 contained the teams ranked 16–20.
Each group contained one team from each of the four pots. The fixtures of each group were decided based on the respective draw position of each team, which was decided by drawing a ball with position numbers 1–4.[7]
^FIFA awarded Algeria a 3–0 win as a result of Nigeria fielding the ineligible player Shehu Abdullahi, after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. Abdullahi failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the qualifying competition.[9]
^ abcLibya played their home matches outside Libya due to security concerns from the civil war.
^FIFA awarded Algeria a 3–0 win as a result of Nigeria fielding the ineligible player Shehu Abdullahi, after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. Abdullahi failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the qualifying competition.[9]
^On 6 September 2017, the Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers annulled the result of the South Africa v Senegal match on 12 November 2016, and ordered that it be replayed within the November 2017 international window, which was confirmed by the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions on 14 September 2017.[11] Originally, South Africa had defeated Senegal 2–1, but match referee Joseph Lamptey was banned for life by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 20 March 2017 for unlawfully influencing the match after issuing a penalty for handball against Senegal:[12] this decision was upheld by the FIFA Appeal Committee, and subsequently by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 6 September 2017.[10]
