FIFA.com - News

European qualifying fixtures announced

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:52:00 GMT

All but two of the Groups in European Zone qualifying for Brazil 2014 have had their fixtures finalised, with England, France, Italy and Spain starting out away to Moldova, Finland, Bulgaria and Georgia respectively.

Prandelli: We're aiming for first

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:18:00 GMT

"We’re Italy and naturally, with the greatest respect to the other sides in the group, we’re aiming to finish in first place," Cesare Prandelli, Italy coach

Italy relishing success once again

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:27:00 GMT

Since crashing out at the group stage at South Africa 2010, Italy have revamped their squad and will look to top Group B in Europe, with Denmark, Czech Republic and Bulgaria their toughest opponents in the section.

Drama and derbies await in Europe

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:37:00 GMT

The draw for the European zone yielded some potentially thrilling sections, with local rivalries set to be stirred and the world champions left to do battle with another winner of football's ultimate prize.

Celebrations for Swiss, Slovaks

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:42:00 GMT

Switzerland and Slovakia seized Europe's last two automatic berths in South Africa, while Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine made the play-offs.

Terim signs off with Turkey win

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:18:00 GMT

Fatih Terim's second reign as Turkey boss came to an end with a comfortable, if unspectacular, ten-man victory over Group 5's basement side Armenia.

Two tickets on offer in Europe

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:09:00 GMT

Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia head into Wednesday's final qualifiers hoping to claim the two remaining direct tickets to South Africa.

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.

Del Bosque: Perfect attitude

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:47:00 GMT

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque praised his side after seeing them come out on top in what he admits was a "difficult" qualifier against Armenia.

Mata keeps Spain perfect

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:40:00 GMT

A second-half penalty from Juan Mata gave Spain a hard-fought 2-1 win in Armenia and maintained La Roja's 100 per cent record in 2010 qualifying.

European qualifiers preview

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:24:00 GMT

Ten tickets to South Africa remain up for grabs in Europe, where crucial games are set to unfold in Athens, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lisbon and Moscow.

Spanish eyes on South African prize

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:17:00 GMT

Spain have flawlessly booked their passage to South Africa 2010, where they aim to make amends for the disappointment of June 2009.

Belgian coach Vercauteren quits

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:22:00 GMT

Franky Vercauteren quit as Belgium coach following his team's 2-1 loss to Armenia which ended their hopes of reaching South Africa 2010.

Armenia seize maiden victory

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:46:00 GMT

Armenia claimed their first victory in Group 5, goals from Hovhannes Goharyan and Sargis Hovsepyan earning them a 2-1 win over Belgium.

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.

Bosnians make no mistake

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Bosnia-Herzegovina kept themselves in the driving seat to finish second in Group 5 by comfortably beating rock-bottom Armenia 2-0 on their travels.

Big names face decisive duels

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:06:00 GMT

Portugal, Sweden, France and Czech Republic are all under pressure to claim maximum points as they limber up for vital FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Turkey target mission improbable

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:47:00 GMT

With Bosnia-Herzegovina in line to finish second in Group 5, Turkey need six points from a vital double-header against Estonia and the Bosnians.

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.

Armenia sack Poulsen

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:04:00 GMT

Armenia have announced the sacking of coach Jan Poulsen after a 2-2 home draw with Estonia in Saturday's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Villa: Spain can still improve

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:34:00 GMT

Valencia and Spain striker David Villa talks to FIFA.com about EURO 2008, South Africa 2010, Vicente Del Bosque, Cesc Fabregas and Raul.

Poulsen: Leaving a legacy

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:28:00 GMT

Danish coach Jan Poulsen is eager to provide Armenia with a solid foundation on which to build in future years, as he explains to FIFA.com.

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?

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.

Swiss slip up as Theo runs riot

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:58:00 GMT

From Switzerland's home defeat by Luxembourg to Theo Walcott's hat-trick, there have been thrills aplenty in Matchday 2 of European qualifying.

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.

Bojan's moment in the spotlight

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:46:00 GMT

After missing out on UEFA EURO 2008 due to fatigue, Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic is looking forward to Spain's qualifiers for South Africa 2010.

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.

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.

Villar-Llona (ESP): We need to earn our ticket

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:57:00 GMT

Angel Maria Villar-Llona: "The only thing that will count at the end of the day is earning our ticket to 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.