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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.

Capello: England need to be careful

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:32:00 GMT

"England need to be careful, this will not be easy. We’ve seen already the strength of Ukraine and Montenegro," Fabio Capello, England manager.

Familiar foes await England

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:59:00 GMT

Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro, all of whom have taken points off England in previous qualifying campaigns, are once again preparing to challenge the Three Lions in Group H.

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.

47 days to go

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:21:00 GMT

In their 10 matches, all defeats, San Marino conceded 47 goals in their qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while scoring just once.

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.

Crouch at the double for England

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:18:00 GMT

Peter Crouch scored a brace to boost his chances of a place at South Africa 2010 as England ended their qualifying campaign by beating Belarus 3-0.

Slovenia settle for second place

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Slovenia cruised to victory away to San Marino, but were forced to settle for a place in the play-offs courtesy of Slovakia's 1-0 success in Poland.

Vittek: Slovakia will qualify

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:06:00 GMT

Slovakia captain Robert Vittek has vowed that "qualification will be ours" after suffering a setback in their South Africa 2010 bid against Slovenia.

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.

Brecko: A full-blooded clash

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:47:00 GMT

Cologne defender Miso Brecko tells FIFA.com all about Slovenia's plans to spoil the Slovak party ahead of their qualifying clash in Bratislava.

Czechs hit seven to revive hopes

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:22:00 GMT

Milan Baros and Vaclav Sverkos contributed six goals between them as Czech Republic beat San Marino 7-0 to move back into Group 3 contention.

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.

Polak out of Czech qualifiers

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:26:00 GMT

Anderlecht midfielder Jan Polak has been ruled out of the Czech Republic's two qualifiers against Slovakia and San Marino after tearing knee ligaments.

Five-star Slovenia

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Slovenia recorded their third-biggest victory as they defeated San Marino 5-0 to keep their dreams of qualifying for South Africa 2010 very much alive.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Slovaks shock the Czechs

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:41:00 GMT

Slovakia shook off neighbours and arch-rivals Czech Republic with a 2-1 win in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Prague on Wednesday evening.

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.

Poland drop keeper Boruc

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:31:00 GMT

Poland goalkeeper Artur Boruc has been dropped from the side and allowed to return to Glasgow after a nightmare display against Northern Ireland.

Mazza relishing San Marino's task

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:08:00 GMT

San Marino might be the smallest of Europe's minnows, but coach Giampolo Mazza says they enjoy the challenge of facing the continent's best.

Northern Ireland cruise in San Marino

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:02:00 GMT

Northern Ireland strolled to a 3-0 win over San Marino but picked up some costly bookings that leave problems in store when they face Poland.

Cech misses San Marino match

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:48:00 GMT

Petr Cech will miss the Czech Republic's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against San Marino on Wednesday because of a thigh injury.

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.

Lafferty back for qualifiers

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:34:00 GMT

Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty is back in Northern Ireland's squad for their qualifying matches against Slovenia and San Marino next month.

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.

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.

Worthington (NIR): Plenty to look forward to

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:24:00 GMT

Nigel Worthington: "I would rather have the group this way than have three to four easy ones and one difficult one. It's very interesting and there's plenty to look forward to."

Czechs face old friends

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:52:00 GMT

On paper Group 3 looks one of the most evenly balanced in the European qualifying round, although Czech Republic will start as favourites.

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.