2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

Fourteen teams will participate in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. In August 2014 it was announced that seven teams had been granted automatic qualification, with four regional qualification tournaments selecting the remaining seven teams. Qualification began in earnest on 9 May 2015 when Spain played Latvia in a knock-out match, although the European Group B competition (which was used as a preliminary qualification tournament) began on 17 May 2014. As of 12th December 2015, 11 teams have qualified.

Qualified teams

Eight teams automatically qualified for the World Cup. Seven of the teams which reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup were granted automatic qualification; the other quarter-finalists, USA, were denied automatic qualification due to an internal governance dispute and instead forced to enter the qualification process. Papua New Guinea were granted automatic qualification as co-hosts in 2015.

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Consecutive finals appearances	Previous best performance
Australia	Host	19 February 2014	15th	2013	15	Winners (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2013)
New Zealand	Host	19 February 2014	15th	2013	15	Winners (2008)
England	Automatic qualifier	5 August 2014	6th	2013	5	Runners-up (1975, 1995)
Fiji	Automatic qualifier	5 August 2014	4th	2013	4	Semi-final (2008, 2013)
France	Automatic qualifier	5 August 2014	15th	2013	15	Runners-up (1954, 1968)
Samoa	Automatic qualifier	5 August 2014	5th	2013	5	Quarter-finals (2000, 2013)
Scotland	Automatic qualifier	5 August 2014	4th	2013	4	Quarter-finals (2013)
Papua New Guinea	Host	8 October 2015	7th	2013	7	Quarter-finals (2000)
Tonga	Asia-Pacific play-off winner	17 October 2015	5th	2013	5	Group stage (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013)
Lebanon	Middle East-Africa play-off winner	31 October 2015	2nd	2000	1	Group stage (2000)
United States	Americas qualifying group winner	12 December 2015	2nd	2013	2	Quarter-finals (2013)

Europe

Three teams will qualify from this region. A two-group, round-robin tournament will take place in autumn 2016 to determine the qualifying nations - this will be contested by the winners of the European C tournament, the top three teams from the European B tournament, and seeded nations Wales and Ireland.

Preliminary rounds

Preliminary play-off

9 May 2015	Latvia	12–32	Spain	Upesciema Stadionā, Riga

• Latvia was eliminated and Spain advanced to the European C tournament.

European Championship C

Main article: 2015 Rugby League European Championship C

The winners of the European C tournament advanced to the final qualifying tournament.

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
Spain	2	2	0	0	116	34	+82	4
Malta	2	1	0	1	60	40	+20	2
Greece	2	0	0	2	4	106	-102	0

26 September 2015	Spain	40–30	Malta	Valencia, Spain
10 October 2015	Malta	30–0	Greece	Marsa, Malta
17 October 2015	Greece	4–76	Spain	Athens, Greece

1. ^ Malta were awarded a 30-0 victory by the RLEF after Greece defaulted. The Hellenic Federation of Rugby League has struggled to keep financially stable due to Greece's recent economic troubles. The Greek side was unable to make the trip to Malta following the withdrawal of two sponsors.

European Championship B

Main article: 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B

The top three teams from the 2014–15 European B tournament advanced to the final qualifying tournament.

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
Serbia	6	5	0	1	196	73	+123	10
Russia	6	4	0	2	137	31	+106	8
Italy	6	3	0	3	142	54	+88	6
Ukraine	6	0	0	6	80	256	–176	0

17 May 2014	Serbia	40–14	Ukraine	Zeleznicar Stadium, Nis
24 May 2014	Russia	24–18	Ukraine	Vereya Stadium, Vereya
21 June 2014	Russia	20–6	Serbia	Nara Stadium, Narofominsk
5 July 2014	Italy	54–12	Ukraine	Stadio Comunale, Gemona del Friuli
26 July 2014	Italy	22–18	Russia	Stadio Comunale, Gemona del Friuli
10 September 2014	Serbia	45–6	Italy	Makiš Stadium, Belgrade
16 May 2015	Serbia	20–15	Russia	Makiš Stadium, Belgrade
20 June 2015	Italy	14–21	Serbia	Stadio Comunale, Gemona del Friuli
4 July 2015	Ukraine	20–34	Russia	Makiš Stadium, Belgrade
18 July 2015	Ukraine	12–40	Italy	National University of Ukraine, Irpin
12 September 2015	Russia	26–6	Italy	Fily Stadium, Moscow
12 September 2015	Ukraine	4–64	Serbia	FC Locomotive Stadium, Chop

Notes

1. ^ Match moved to neutral territory due to travel restrictions following the 2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine

Primary round

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe

The final qualification tournament will consist of 6 teams - the top three teams from the European B tournament, the winners of the European C tournament and seeded nations Wales and Ireland. The tournament will feature two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up will face each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw will take place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015.

Key to colours in pool tables
	Qualifies for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Qualifies for play-off match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Fails to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Wales	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Serbia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0

15 October 2016	Wales	v	Serbia	Stebonheath Park, Llanelli
22/23 October 2016	Serbia	v	Italy
29 October 2016	Italy	v	Wales	Stadio Brianteo, Monza

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0
Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	0

15 October 2016	Russia	v	Spain	Fili Stadium, Moscow
22/23 October 2016	Spain	v	Ireland
29/30 October 2016	Ireland	v	Russia

Qualifying play-off

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe § Qualifying play-off

5 November 2016	Group 1 runner-up	v	Group 2 runner-up	Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England

Asia-Pacific

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Asia-Pacific play-off)

Two qualifying places were initially allocated to this region. Papua New Guinea were granted automatic qualification in 2015 after being confirmed as co-hosts, leaving one additional team to qualify from this region. A single play-off between Tonga and Cook Islands determined the final qualifier.

17 October 2015	Tonga	28–8	Cook Islands	Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown, Australia

Americas

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Americas

One team qualified from this region. A three-team round robin tournament was held in Florida in December 2015 to determine the qualifier.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
United States	2	2	0	0	54	38	+16	4
Jamaica	2	0	1	1	32	38	–6	1
Canada	2	0	1	1	42	52	–10	1

4 December 2015	United States	20–14	Jamaica	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
8 December 2015	Canada	18–18	Jamaica	Spec Martin Stadium, DeLand, Florida
12 December 2015	United States	34–24	Canada	Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Middle East-Africa

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Middle East-Africa play-off)

One team qualified from this region. A two match series was held between South Africa and Lebanon to determine the qualifier.

25 October 2015	South Africa	12–40	Lebanon	Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria
31 October 2015	South Africa	16–50	Lebanon	Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria