FIFA.com - News

Surprise packages & a demolition derby

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:21:00 GMT

In our latest stats review, FIFA.com features goalscoring feats from Real Madrid, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Antonio Di Natale, an extraordinary day in Manchester and the end of a decade-long run in Armenia.

Croatia play-off bound despite win

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:15:00 GMT

Croatia must wait to discover whether they will qualify for UEFA EURO 2012 as they will have to contest a play-off after finishing second in Group F despite this evening's victory over Latvia.

Greece make late call-ups for Georgia

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:43:00 GMT

Greece have had to bring an two emergency call-ups ahead of their final, and crucial, UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier, requiring a draw against Georgia to make it through as Group B winners.

Greece, Belgium push for qualification

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:36:00 GMT

Greece moved into pole position in UEFA EURO 2012 qualification Group F after beating fellow contenders Croatia 2-0, while Belgium beat Kazakhstan 4-1 to move into second in Group A at Turkey's expense.

Latvia salvage pride with Malta win

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:02:00 GMT

Aleksejs Visnjakovs' first-half strike and Artjoms Rudnevs' late goal earned Latvia a 2-0 win over Malta in their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier at the Skonto Stadions in Riga.

Productive weekend for Europe's leaders

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:58:00 GMT

FIFA.com reflects on a generally positive weekend for the pacesetters in Europe's top leagues, with only Montpellier slipping up as Manchester United, Napoli, Valencia and Bayern Munich strengthened their positions.

Greece wary of Israel danger

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:37:00 GMT

Greece's players have been speaking about putting their unbeaten record against Israel, with the afternoon heat in Tel Aviv among their main concerns.

Vanins: I want to leave an imprint

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:52:00 GMT

FIFA.com met with FC Sion and Latvia's Andris Vanins to discuss football in Switzerland, his thoughts on what makes a good goalkeeper, and his future hopes for club and country.

Atletico dealt Norwegian Europa trip

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:11:00 GMT

Atletico Madrid will face Norwegian side Stromsgodset, who last appeared in the UEFA Cup 13 years ago, while Stoke City have been been paired against Hadjuk Split in the UEFA Europa League.

Benfica to face Trabz after UEFA draw

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:33:00 GMT

The draw for the UEFA Champions League has taken place, with a number of exciting ties being thrown up, including Benfica taking on Trabzonspor and Rubin Kazan facing national neighbours Dynamo Kiev.

Key victories see groups tighten

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:58:00 GMT

FIFA.com reviews Saturday's UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying matches, which featured a poor result for England, victory and a landmark for Republic of Ireland, and results which have tightened the top of many groups.

Israel chase leaders after Latvia victory

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:51:00 GMT

Yossi Benayoun and Tal Ben-Haim scored to give Israel a 2-1 victory in Latvia, which was enough to move their side into contention with the leaders in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F.

Croatia, Israel aiming for summit

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:32:00 GMT

Croatia can take a temporary lead in Group F if they beat Georgia tomorrow, although current leaders Greece face Malta on Saturday, while Israel can remain in contention with victory over Latvia.

Who’ve been the stars of 2010/11?

Wed, 18 May 2011 10:09:00 GMT

FIFA.com wants to know which players have impressed you the most during the 2010/11 season across Europe.

Kayal hits late winner for Israel

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:25:00 GMT

Israel survived a rough second-half to defeat their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F opponents Latvia 2-1, moving the team within two points of group leaders Croatia.

Croatia confident, Greece poised

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:58:00 GMT

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has bullish in his assertion that his side can be victorious away at Georgia, but should they slip-up Greece can overtake them at the top of Group F with a win in Malta.

Disciplinary proceedings against officials in relation to international matches

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:21:00 GMT

FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against six match officials in relation to the international A friendly matches Bolivia-Latvia and Estonia-Bulgaria played in Antalya (Turkey) on 9 February 2011.

Messi to the fore on mixed night for elite

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:47:00 GMT

There were varied results for the big guns on a massive night of internationals highlighted by Lionel Messi's late winner against Portugal, Brazil falling to defeat in France, while Germany’s winless streak against Italy continued.

Messi sinks Brazil, Spain slump in Lisbon

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:14:00 GMT

Argentina hit the headlines in Wednesday’s international action by beating Brazil for the first time in five years, world champions Spain came unstuck in spectacular fashion against Portugal while England lost to a rejuvenated France.

China earn late victory

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:17:00 GMT

A header from Yang Xu in stoppage time gave China a 1-0 victory over visitors Latvia, whose coach Aleksandrs Starkovs believed they deserved at least a draw from the match.

Stunning goal denies Georgia

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:53:00 GMT

An acrobatic stoppage-time equaliser earned Latvia a point against Georgia, who were denied the three points but remain unbeaten in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F.

Santos: Greece are 'on track'

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:15:00 GMT

Greece are improving game by game according to coach Fernando Santos, who was pleased with his side's 1-0 win over Latvia and is now preparing for the visit of Israel in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F.

Single goal enough for dominant Greece

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:24:00 GMT

A goal from Vassilis Torosidis gave Greece their first win in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F, the hosts completely dominating a Latvia side lacking in creativity.

Latvia ease past Malta

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:01:00 GMT

Latvia bounced back from defeat in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier against Croatia on Friday with a 2-0 win over Malta tonight.

Croatia coast to winning start

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:26:00 GMT

Croatia cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Latvia in the opening game of their UEFA EURO 2012 Group F qualifying campaign.

Bilic, Kranjcar eye six early points

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:51:00 GMT

Croatia need to begin their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign by beating both Latvia and Greece, according to coach Slaven Bilic and playmaker Niko Kranjcar.

Action aplenty across Europe

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:16:00 GMT

Switzerland, Czech Republic and Greece were among the impressive victors on a busy night of international friendly action for European national teams.

Sparta, Dinamo, Hapoel eye progress

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:53:00 GMT

Sparta Prague, Dinamo Zagreb and Hapoel Tel Aviv were among the winners in Tuesday's fixtures in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.

Portadown, Tauras progress

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:25:00 GMT

Portadown and Tauras are through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League after wins over Skonto and Llanelli, respectively.

Uphill task for Glentoran

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:09:00 GMT

Glentoran and Port Talbot are each left with mountains to climb after lopsided first-leg defeats in their UEFA Europa league qualifiers.

Five names finish first

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:16:00 GMT

redkop69's superior overall score broke the five-way tie at the summit of Round 29, earning him win a signed FIFA World Cup™ winner's jersey.

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.