FIFA.com - News

Five more confirm Europa advance

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:14:00 GMT

Fulham, Hertha Berlin, Panathinaikos, Club Brugge and Copenhagen all moved into the UEFA Europa League last 32 as their group fixtures concluded.

Team of the Year Spain stay top

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:00:00 GMT

European champions Spain take the title of 'Team of the Year', hanging on to top spot in the FIFA/Coca World Ranking as 2009 grinds to a halt.

Three clubs attain Europa goal

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:38:00 GMT

Athletic Bilbao, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting have all shored up a berth in the UEFA Europa League knockout stage with Roma moving a step closer.

Gala qualify, quartet on cusp

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Galatasaray won in Romania to become the first team to reach the last 32, while Ajax, Anderlecht, Panathinaikos and Sporting have almost qualified.

Ventspils hold Sporting in Lisbon

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:49:00 GMT

Ventspils earned an improbable 1-1 draw away to Sporting, who nonetheless increased their cushion at the Group D summit to six points.

Champions of the north crowned

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:37:00 GMT

As title races reach their conclusion in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, FIFA.com looks at which teams have been toasting championship success.

Bonus points decide winner

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:14:00 GMT

Funalez is the Round 9 winner. The USA predictor's belief that Omonia Nicosia would edge out Apollon Limassol 1-0 ultimately won him the round prize.

Rubins brace propels Latvia

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:18:00 GMT

Two goals from Andrejs Rubins helped Latvia finish their South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign with a 3-2 home win over ten-man Moldova.

European quartet stamp tickets

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:46:00 GMT

Italy, Germany, Denmark and Serbia all sealed their places at South Africa 2010 with positive results during Saturday's nervy round of qualifiers.

Astafjevs rolling back the years

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:31:00 GMT

FIFA.com looks at the career of Latvian veteran Vitalijs Astafjevs, who proudly stands on the verge of becoming the most-capped European in history.

Opening night shocks abound

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:10:00 GMT

The group stage of the inaugural UEFA Europa League commenced with several shocks as the likes of Roma, Lazio and Hamburg all lost out.

Swiss miss chance against Latvia

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:15:00 GMT

Substitute Eren Derdiyok headed an equaliser with his first touch, but it was not enough to earn more than a point for Switzerland against Latvia.

Latvia eye Swiss scalp

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:40:00 GMT

Latvia are aiming to replicate their heroics en route to UEFA EURO 2004 when they take on Switzerland in Group 2 tomorrow.

England and Serbia on the verge

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:54:00 GMT

England and Serbia will have the chance to reach South Africa 2010 in midweek, while Denmark, Slovakia and Spain could also secure qualification.

Swedes surge as France flounder

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:32:00 GMT

Sweden gave some much-needed impetus to their qualification hopes with a win over Hungary, while France could only draw with Romania at home.

Latvia shock Israel

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:16:00 GMT

Kaspars Gorkss' second-half header secured Latvia a priceless away win over Israel that moves them up to second in Group 2 of the European Zone.

Hitzfeld: Otto is a clever coach

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:11:00 GMT

Switzerland boss Ottmar Hitzfeld sat down for an exclusive chat with FIFA.com ahead of the crunch qualifying clash with Otto Rehhagel's Greece.

Atletico, Lyon well placed in Europe

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:27:00 GMT

Atletico Madrid and Lyon are among the big names looking to guarantee their position in the Champions League group stage in midweek action.

Latvia mourns Sitiks

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Former Latvia player of the year and the country's U-21 coach, Genadijs Sitiks, passed away last week, aged 51, following a heart attack.

Lyon overpower Anderlecht

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:37:00 GMT

Lyon took a massive stride toward qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages by recording a thumping 5-1 win over Anderlecht.

Lyon’s run to be tested by Belgians

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:48:00 GMT

Lyon's tilt at a tenth consecutive appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage will be tested by Anderlecht as continental action hots up.

Europe salutes Barcelona

Thu, 28 May 2009 19:28:00 GMT

After a dazzling display of flowing football against the English holders, Barcelona were crowned worthy European champions in Rome.

Saururrex closes, Castren claims jersey

Tue, 26 May 2009 09:35:00 GMT

The outcome of a game in England favoured Castren, while Saururrex moved 102 points behind overall leader kammer in the penultimate round.

Flawless trio aim for more

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:38:00 GMT

Spain, England and Netherlands have won all their games to date and are out to consolidate their leads on matchday six in the European Zone.

Determining Europe's runners-up

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:17:00 GMT

FIFA has revealed the criteria that will determine the eight best runners-up in the group phase of European Zone qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Fearsome foursome lead the way

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:10:00 GMT

Four teams have maintained a perfect record on the first three matchdays of European qualifying for South Africa 2010. Can they keep it up?

England roll on, France fight back

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:31:00 GMT

While England put five goals past Kazakhstan and Spain crusied to victory in Estonia, France scraped a draw on Matchday 3 of European qualifying.

Fast starters eye nine from nine

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:09:00 GMT

England, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Ukraine and Spain will hope to make it three wins in a row, but the pressure is on Croatia, France and Portugal.

Trebles steal the headlines

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:24:00 GMT

Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick to inspire England to a 4-1 win in Croatia, while Miroslav Klose's treble saved Germany from defeat in Finland.

All eyes on Zagreb

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:24:00 GMT

England face a tough test against bogey side Croatia in the pick of Wednesday evening's FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in Europe.

Europe up and running

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:01:00 GMT

England needed two-goal hero Joe Cole to beat Andorra on a day when France lost to Austria and Italy needed a little luck to beat Cyprus.

Title joy in Eastern Europe

Tue, 20 May 2008 10:01:00 GMT

While Western Europe's title drama dominated the weekend's headlines, there have also been plenty of celebrations a little further east.

What is the best game you've seen?

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:47:00 GMT

Be it from international or club level, yesteryear or the modern era, FIFA.com would like to know what is the best match you have ever watched.

Who is the world's best coach?

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Regardless of whether they work at club or international level, FIFA.com would like to hear who you feel is currently the world's best coach?

Starkovs' return lifts Latvia

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:12:00 GMT

Despite missing out on the UEFA EURO 2008 finals, Latvia's fine form has seen them leap 13 places in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

European kick-off approaches

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:17:00 GMT

Thirty-eight nations will be involved when the UEFA qualifying competition for the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008 opens on 28 February.

Draw settles disputes

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:53:00 GMT

The fixture list draw of Groups 2 and 5 of the European preliminary competition for South Africa 2010 was conducted on Wednesday.

Match schedule draw for European Groups 2 and 5

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:09:23 GMT

A draw to determine the fixture list for European Zone qualifying Groups 2 and 5 for South Africa 2010 will take place in Zagreb on 30 January.

European qualifiers taking shape

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The European teams have been busy drawing up a fixture list, with the matchdays for Groups 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 now set in stone.

From Europe to the world

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:38:00 GMT

Greece are looking to translate their recent success on the European stage into significant progress in FIFA World Cup football.

Benayoun (ISR): We should qualify

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:25:00 GMT

Yossi Benayoun: "If expectations up until now were exaggerated, they are realistic now: We should qualify for the World Cup."

Europe stirs preliminary passions

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:39:00 GMT

In our feature examining the history of FIFA World Cup preliminaries, FIFA.com reflects on Europe's most memorable and dramatic qualifiers.

Last call for EURO 2008

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:21:00 GMT

Portugal-Finland, Turkey-Norway, England-Russia, Sweden-Northern Ireland are battling it out for a place in the UEFA EURO 2008 finals.

Trio book EURO passage

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:09:00 GMT

Greece, Czech Republic and Romania made certain of their finals tickets on Wednesday as England and the Scots suffered surprise defeats.

Auld enemies aim to edge closer

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:05:00 GMT

Wednesday's qualifiers witness Scotland and England chase vital wins in Georgia and Russia as the race to the finish line enters the final straight.

Quartet stride as Germany advance

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:52:00 GMT

Germany became the first side to qualify for UEFA EURO 2008, while impressive wins lifted the hopes of Scotland, Croatia, Spain and Romania.

Selection woes for EURO aspirants

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:49:00 GMT

With 21 games, the race to Switzerland and Austria enters the home straight this weekend with several sides shorn of some key figures.

Groups drawn in UEFA Cup

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:06:00 GMT

The draw for the UEFA Cup group stage was made on Tuesday, with big spending pair Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid facing tricky ties.

Scots celebrate, England on song

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:07:00 GMT

Scotland's stunning victory in Paris provided the greatest drama on a night of European qualifiers that also brought key wins for England and Italy.

Stakes high for top trio

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:02:00 GMT

With five rounds to go before the end of qualifying, Portugal, Spain and Italy are desperate for points in their quest to reach the UEFA EURO 2008 finals.