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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.

Olsen: It could have been worse

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:16:00 GMT

"Things could have turned worse for us, even though getting Cyprus and Iceland out of pots five and six will make it a tricky group," Egil Olsen, Norway coach.

Trio targeting top spot

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:28:00 GMT

The race for first place promises to be an enthralling tussle as Group E pits together three sides – Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland – in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking top 30.

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.

Norway clinch second in group

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:50:00 GMT

Norway clinched second place in qualifying Group 9 after a dominant victory over FYR Macedonia in Oslo, but may fall short of a play-off berth.

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.

Iceland frustrate Norway

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Norway's qualification bid for South Africa 2010 suffered a setback as they were held to a draw by Iceland in Reykjavik tonight.

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.

Big guns deliver as Norway dazzle

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Norway were the day's big winners with a 4-0 victory over Scotland, while Germany and France both edged closer to a place at South Africa 2010.

Burley: Everything went wrong

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:04:00 GMT

Scotland manager George Burley lamented his side's luck in losing 4-0 to Norway but insisted they can still qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Norway crush 10-man Scots

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:17:00 GMT

Norway secured a major boost in their bid to reach the play-offs for South Africa 2010 with a resounding 4-0 win over Group 9 rivals Scotland.

Fletcher: World Cup is the pinnacle

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:43:00 GMT

Scotland captain Darren Fletcher believes an appearance at South Africa 2010 will eclipse anything he has ever achieved at club level.

Norway seek qualification 'miracle'

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:20:00 GMT

Brede Hangeland is looking for another footballing miracle from Egil Olsen against to rescue his country's dream of appearing at South Africa 2010.

Race resumes in Europe

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:09:00 GMT

Norway and Belarus will host Scotland and Croatia respectively amid high stakes, while France and Germany can ill-afford to stumble on their travels.

Gordon: Burley faces tough choice

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:11:00 GMT

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon says he would struggle to pick his replacement for Scotland's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifier against Norway.

Burley bemoans Gordon setback

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:33:00 GMT

Scotland manager George Burley admits the absence of Craig Gordon for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Norway next month would be a "ma

England, Serbia edge ever closer

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:20:00 GMT

England took a big step towards next year's finals in South Africa with an emphatic win over Andorra while Serbia and Russia did their hopes no harm.

Dutch keep up the form

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:08:00 GMT

The Netherlands celebrated their qualification for next summer's FIFA World Cup finals in style with a 2-0 victory over Norway in Rotterdam.

Olsen hopes Dutch lack focus

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:49:00 GMT

With the Netherlands qualifying for South Africa 2010 last weekend, Norway coach Egil Olsen is hoping that the Dutch will be distracted for their qualifier.

Mission to join the Dutch

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:56:00 GMT

A crop of European teams could put one hand on a place at South Africa 2010 in midweek, while others will attempt to improve their slim chances.

Burley fancies Scotland's chances

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:43:00 GMT

Scotland coach George Burley thinks Scotland are in the driving seat to finish second after all of their Group 9 rivals dropped points this weekend.

Safe passage for Netherlands

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:56:00 GMT

The Netherlands became the first European side to book passage to South Africa as England, Serbia, Denmark and Slovakia moved closer to the finals.

FYR Macedonia hold Norway

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:53:00 GMT

Norway remain without a win in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifying after they were held to a goalless draw by FYR Macedonia in Skopje.

Dutch close in as neighbours clash

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:57:00 GMT

In Europe, the Netherlands know that a win in Iceland will guarantee a spot in South Africa, while Sweden square up to Nordic neighbours Demark.

Duo join Oranje squad

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:12:00 GMT

Robin van Persie and Demy de Zeeuw have joined up with the Netherlands squad for the upcoming qualifiers, but Nigel de Jong misses out.

'Prodigal' Pienaar returns to South Africa

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:09:00 GMT

Everton's South African midfielder, Steven Pienaar was a surprise inclusion in Joel Santana's squad to face Norway in the Nelson Mandela Challenge.

Olsen struggles with injury woes

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:22:00 GMT

Norway will be be without several of their stars for Wednesday night's friendly against Germany in Dusseldorf.

One last challenge for Olsen

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:06:00 GMT

After becoming Norway coach for the second time in his career just two short weeks ago, 66-year-old Egil "Drillo" Olsen spoke to FIFA.com.

Olsen answers Norway call

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Veteran coach Egil Olsen is to take the reins of the Norwegian national side for a second time, intially on a temporary basis.

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?

Burley: Scots can still qualify

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:09:00 GMT

Scotland manager George Burley believes his side can still qualify for the FIFA World Cup despite a goalless draw against Norway at Hampden.

Scots draw blank against Norway

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:16:00 GMT

Scotland's South Africa 2010 qualification hangs in the balance after a goalless draw against Norway at Hampden on Saturday.

Burley: We must beat Norway

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:47:00 GMT

Scotland manager George Burley says his side must beat Norway on Saturday if they are to have a realistic chance of qualifying for South Africa.

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.

Papy rides to the rescue

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:34:00 GMT

With injuries to their first and second-choice goalkeepers, the Netherlands have issued an SOS to their most capped player, Edwin van der Sar.

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.

Orange and Tartan to clash

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:56:00 GMT

In the only five-team group, Netherlands will come under strong pressure from Scotland if they can maintain their recent improvement.

Van Basten (NED): Scotland are very dangerous

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:10:00 GMT

Marco van Basten: "Scotland are very dangerous at the moment, especially over the last two years, and we have to be very careful playing against them."

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.