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And finally, we have our elite 32 who'd be competing on the Russian soil next year for world football's most prestigious trophy. Countless games and countless goals later, we have arrived at the stage where the internet would be bursting at the seams with think pieces on various aspects (and moments) of the qualifiers being dissected and discussed.
The one you're reading right now is no different, for we'll focus on the scoring aspect of the same. With as many as 2454 goals being scored across six different zones in 872 games, we look at the players who shone the brightest up front for their respective teams; players who scored goals at will and finished atop the scoring charts.
Here are the top 10 of them from the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers:
#10 Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) - 10 goals in 15 matches
With Luis Suarez hopping in and out of the team with suspensions and injuries, the scoring burden fell majorly on the strapping shoulders of Edinson Cavani, and suffice to say, the PSG starlet more than just delivered the goods.
In what was a tumultuous qualifying campaign for Uruguay, despite finishing second in the region, the 30-year old was a reliable source of inspiration up front. He came to the rescue when the Celeste were found wanting and helped continue their surge in finishing within the qualification zone that was brought under question at one point in time.
Cavani has been criticized on several occasions in the past for disappearing when his team needed him the most. But this time around, he has managed to shush all the naysayers. It took a while for him to get going, as it wasn't until the third matchday that he first found the back of the net, although Uruguay still finished on the losing end of a 2-1 score in Ecuador.
The going got tough thereafter, but Cavani wasn't to get bogged down by it, and ended up bagging 9 more with some of the more significant contributions including igniting the comeback against Brazil in the 2-2 draw, sealing all three points in the slender 1-0 win over Peru, and putting his side back in the driving seat against Bolivia in the final game.
#9 Mile Jedinak (Australia) - 10 goals in 12 matches
As surprising it may be for us to see him here, Mile Jedinak took over the Australian mantle and scored a qualification ensuring hat-trick against Honduras in the second leg of the intercontinental play-offs.
Despite the injuries blighting his qualification prospects, the former Crystal Palace man delivered for the Socceroos whenever called into action, and no better game would stand a testimony to that than the one against the Central American outfit.
The burly Australian has unquestionably had his best time in his national colours during the qualifying, whilst his dead ball speciality was brought to the fore too, scoring four penalties from four attempts, the last of which sealed his first ever international treble.
The fact that 10 of the 18 goals that Jedinak has scored for Australia have come in these qualifiers, indicates not just his growth as a serious threat in the box, but also his importance to the team. The Aston Villa midfielder is currently out of the scene at the club level, but these are the performances that would surely help resurrect his fledgling club career.
A similar talismanic performance in Russia would work wonder for him and his team, who're aiming to go a step further this time around.
#8 Tim Cahill (Australia) - 11 goals in 15 matches
The Melbourne City forward just refuses to get old. Or rather, refuses to give in to ol' Father Time, for even at the age of 37 and in the twilight on his career, Cahill manages to produce the goods for his side which exemplifies his cardinality to the Australia football team.
The Socceroos punched their ticket to Russia at the eleventh hour, but Cahill has been there throughout, scoring goals for fun and helping his side stay alive in the title race. And when he didn't, Cahill played the role of an orchestrator, silently doing all the dirty work for his team.
Although there's a lot of scepticism now with the former Everton man refusing to commit to the World Cup and also talks of him quitting the A-league to stay fit for the event, contrarily. However, the Oceania outfit would find it hard in Russia without their talisman, despite the presence of notable figures such as Tomi Juric, Tom Rogic, Aaron Mooy and of course, Mile Jedinak.
For all the beautiful moments he's conjured while his time at the Premier League that we couldn't help but submit to its awe, it would be a delight to watch Cahill produce something similar one last time before he heads into the sunset.
#7 Sardar Azmoun (Iran) - 11 goals in 14 matches
Iran qualified for the World Cup for the second time on the trot, and the 22-year old youngster was at the heart of it. Starting alongside another prolific scorer Mehdi Taremi (8 goals), Azmoun, at such a ripe age, has already grown into an instrumental figure for Team Melli, registering an impressive 22 goals in 30 international caps.
As Iran finished at the top of the group in both rounds, undefeated, Azmoun weighed in with vital goals against South Korea, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and even against a resilient Syria on the final matchday to earn his side a point.
The Rubin Kazan outcast made his debut for the Persians just months after their Brazilian expedition ended with a whimper, and since then, there has been no stopping him. Averaging an eye-grabbing 0.73 goals per game, Azmoun is a talent earmarked for the future of Iranian football, and also the man to lead the line for them at the World Cups.
With Mehrdad Pooladi and Reza Ghoonchannejhad faltering in the recent days, the mantle has automatically fallen on the tender yet seemingly capable shoulders of Azmoun, who is already the fifth highest goalscorer of Iran. And don't forget, he's just 22.
So whilst he really is a precocious talent, now it's time for him to announce himself to the world on the biggest platform in Russia.
#6 Christian Eriksen (Denmark) - 11 goals in 12 matches
The Tottenham Hotspur midfield maestro has seen his stock go through the roof since the last few seasons, and the same could be witnessed when in international colours as Denmark qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2010 after battering Republic of Ireland 5-1 in Dublin.
Eriksen was the vital cog in a hugely improved Denmark side that sauntered their way to the finals, whilst his talismanic influence on the team was highlighted when he struck a hat-trick against The Green Army to round off the romp in the deciding play-off tie.
The 25-year old has gone on to become one of the best in the business with consistently immaculate showings with the North London outfit, and maybe that has helped him on the international front too, climbing his way up to the summit of the Danish football.
His vitality could be signified by the four-goal difference between him and their second-best scorer, Thomas Delaney.
Eriksen was the chieftain in Age Hareide's set up and successfully drove his side to the finals, where a nation's hopes have been pinned on him.The Danish Dynamite are although the underdogs going into the showpiece event, Eriksen's rich vein of form can help them upset the odds, to some extent.
#5 Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) - 11 goals in 8 matches
A focal point in Belgium's ridiculously talented squad, Romelu Lukaku is a lethal scorer on any given day, and the fact that he missed 10 games and still ended up finishing among the top five scorers in the qualifiers is a testament to his striking calibre.
The Manchester United star made scoring look like a child's play, and tore defences asunder with his clinical finishes. His 11 goal tally could be dissected into two braces and a hat-trick against the debutants Gibralter, but his most significant contribution in the run was the last gasp equaliser against Greece that saved his side the embarrassment at home.
The 24-year old couldn't bring out the best in himself at the Euro 2016 last year as Belgium flattered to deceive despite a promising team and exited the championship in the last 8 to Wales.
Having upped the ante this time around, Les Diables Rouges are outside favourites at the World Cup and leading the line would be Lukaku, the focal point of Belgium's blistering attack that also features the likes of Dries Mertens, Michy Batshuayi, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.
Yet, the former Everton man would be shouldering the mantle upfront, and his 11-goal haul would be an inspiration to continue in the same vein at the finals.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 15 goals in 9 matches
He may be struggling to find the net in Real Madrid colours these days, but Ronaldo was a different beast in the red of Portugal all the while. With 15 goals in 9 games, the 4-time Ballon d'Or winner enjoyed his most imperious scoring spree for the Seleccao, also surpassing the likes of Gerd Muller, Miroslav Klose and Pele on the all-time highest number of goals in international games.
Leading the line with Andre Silva (who scored another 9 goals himself), Ronaldo displayed ferocity of the most dangerous volumes, biting at the heels of the defences and turning every possible opportunity into a goal.
His four-goal haul against Andorra in his first qualifying game, set the tone for the rest of the campaign. And although he failed to score against Switzerland on the final matchday, the 32- year old was amid the thick of the things.
This was also his most prolific of the 6 qualifiers he's played in (Euros and World Cups) and currently boasts an admirable tally of 79 international goals, joint-fourth in the history with Zambia's Godfrey Chitalu.
Portugal entered the tournament as the reigning European champions, and also with heightened expectations. But in what will probably be his last World Cup outing, Ronaldo would want to leave a mark on the biggest stage of them all.
#3 Ahmed Khalil (United Arab Emirates) - 16 goals in 17 matches
The only player from the list who won't feature in the World Cup, Ahmed Khalil's tremendous efforts for the UAE may have blown up in smoke, but he has managed to script a piece of history for himself by finishing as the joint top scorer in the qualifiers. However, it also evinces the Arabians' chronic dependency on one man.
UAE were seriously unlucky to have drawn Saudi Arabia in both rounds, having finished behind them on both occasions, and Khalil was perhaps the sole shining light for them. The fact that The White Jersey had only six different goal-scorers across 18 games shows the dearth of attacking prowess, and the 26-year old did just as much he could to cope with it.
There were moments aplenty when the team fell short of complementing his brilliance, but the best part was that UAE never lost in the second round whenever Khalil scored - winning all the four games in which he weighed in with the crucial strikes, accentuating his instrumentality to the team further.
However, the Middle Eastern side, as a team, left a lot to be desired and fell painfully short against greater challenges such as Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia, thereby undoing all the heroics that Khalil belted out in the final third.
#2 Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Saudi Arabia) - 16 goals in 14 matches
Saudi Arabia returned to the global stage after an absence of 12 years, on the back of a highly successful qualifying campaign that saw them finish just a point behind leaders Japan, but ahead of the 2015 Asian champions Australia in the second round, having topped their group in the first.
Mohammad Al-Sahlawi struck 16 times for his country in 14 out of a possible 18 games and finished as the joint top-scorer. The Al-Nassar striker's impressive scoring spree includes a hattrick against minnows Timor-Leste at home, and a five-goal haul in the return, becoming the only player to strike five times in this qualifications in a single game.
However, therein lies a majority of his contributions. His only other notable performance was a brace against UAE that sealed all the three points for his side, and the last-gasp winner over a resolute Palestine.
The 30-year old receded a bit in the second round, bagging only two strikes - against Thailand and Australia, both of which eventually proved to be inconsequential.
At the 2019 Asia Cup, where Saudi next play, the stakes will be far higher than this, and Al-Sahlawi's goals would only count if they help the Green Falcons win some points and hold them in a good stead to claim the prize.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Poland) - 16 goals in 10 matches
Barring the 4-0 evisceration at the hands of Denmark earlier this year, Poland otherwise pranced to the World Cup finals through their group and thanks in no small part to their attacking talisman Robert Lewandowski, who struck as many as 16 times in 10 appearances to finish as the joint-top scorer of the qualifying, but the best on goals-to-game ratio.
Like a ruthless predator on the prowl for its prey, the Bayern Munich ace wreaked havoc in defences, with his fierce attacking precision, and single-handedly dragged his side to the Russian showpiece.
He alone, accounted for a staggering 57% of Poland's total goals scored in the qualifying, a figure that also includes 3 hat-tricks to his name (vs. Denmark, Romania and Armenia).
The thrashing at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen was the only time he missed the mark, but that was certainly more than made up for by a highly overwhelming performance overall.
Although his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo beat him to become the first man to hit 14 goal barrier in the qualifying, the 29-year old currently holds the outright record for most goals scored in the World Cup qualifying phase in the European zone with 16.
What needs to be seen, now, is whether he can bring the same spark to Russia.
