The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw took place in St. Petersburg, Russia on Saturday. Turkey escaped with a relatively easy World Cup qualifying draw that sees them pitted against Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine and Finland in Group I. Servet Yardımcı and Ali Dürüst, executive board members for the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Turkish Football Director Fatih Terim and TFF Secretary General Kadir Kardaş participated in the drawing. Turkey head coach Fatih Terim stressed that he strongly believed the national team would qualify for the World Cup. "If we play in a way that we should, there will be no team that we cannot beat. I fully trust in my players. We are getting experience each day and ours has been becoming a strong team. This gives me hope," he said. World Cup holder Germany will open its World Cup title defense against Norway. A day after the qualifying draw for the 2018 tournament, the European fixtures were announced by the UEFA, with Germany handed an away trip first in Group C on Sept. 4, 2016. The draw put traditional rivals and European powers together, with only group winners guaranteed a place in Russia.The groups at the European qualifiers, in which 52 countries will compete to attend the World Cup to be hosted by Russia, are as follows: Group A: The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, 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, Liechtenstein Group H: Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland