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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.

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.

Cech: Chelsea duo vital to England

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:34:00 GMT

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech tells FIFA.com about England's key figures, why he became a goalkeeper, and how hard it is not being involved at South Africa 2010.

Worthington salutes 'super' players

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:49:00 GMT

Nigel Worthington believes his team's South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign has been a success, with Northern Ireland finishing fourth in Group 3.

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.

Northern Ireland earn Czech stalemate

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:15:00 GMT

Northern Ireland earned an impressive goalless draw away to Czech Republic to round off what has been an admirable qualifying campaign.

Jankulovski quits as Czech hopes end

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:01:00 GMT

Defender Marek Jankulovski said he was quitting international football after the Czech Republic lost all hope of qualifying for South Africa 2010.

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.

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.

Czech hopes sink despite Poland win

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:40:00 GMT

The Czech Republic beat Poland through goals from Tomas Necid and Jaroslav Plasil but it was a hollow victory as Slovenia's win in Slovakia left them needing a small miracle to keep their FIFA World Cup™ dreams alive.

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.

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.

Koller Czechs out again

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:27:00 GMT

Veteran striker Jan Koller has left the Czech national team after an abortive international comeback in Saturday's qualifier against Slovakia.

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.

Czech Republic draw with leaders

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:11:00 GMT

Milan Baros grabbed a late equaliser for the Czech Republic, but a draw against Group 3 leaders Slovakia was not the result the visitors wanted.

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.

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.

Sverkos: I'm convinced we'll qualify

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:18:00 GMT

FIFA.com spoke to forward Vaclav Sverkos about Czech Republic's current problems and their lingering hopes of qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Hasek: I'm loving it

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:39:00 GMT

Ivan Hasek, the new President of the Czech Football Association and national team coach visited the Home of FIFA and spoke to FIFA.com.

Czech FA chief turns coach

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:27:00 GMT

Czech FA head Ivan Hasek announced he was taking over the Czech national team as head coach until the end of the South Africa 2010 qualifiers.

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.

Points to make in Europe

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:14:00 GMT

FIFA.com looks ahead to the latest set of European Zone qualifiers, which include crucial games in a wide open Group 1, and tests for some big names.

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.

Cech out of Slovenia match

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech will miss Wednesday's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifier against Slovenia with a thigh injury.

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?

Jokic the born optimist

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:39:00 GMT

It has been a mixed season so far for Sochaux defender Bojan Jokic. While things are going well for Slovenia, in Ligue 1 it is completely different.

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.

Mixed bag for new coaches

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:22:00 GMT

Seven renowned coaches took charge of new teams as qualifying got underway in Europe, with two more returning to former stamping grounds.

Czech stalemate for Northern Ireland

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:33:00 GMT

Northern Ireland held the Czech Republic to a goalless draw atWindsor Park as they gained their first point of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

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.

Rada replaces Bruckner

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:35:00 GMT

Petr Rada was unveiled as the surprise choice to succeed Karel Bruckner as manager of the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Czechs postpone coach decision

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:50:00 GMT

The Czech Football Federation (CMFS) said on Tuesday that it had delayed until mid-July a decision on appointing a new national coach.

Bruckner's last symphony

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:12:00 GMT

Czech coach Karel Bruckner, an admirer of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, will need to create a last crescendo of his own against Turkey on Sunday.

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.

Germany 2006: The final ranking

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The top four at the 2006 FIFA World Cup needs no explanation but which teams finished fifth and 25th? See how FIFA ranked the 32 finalists on their performances in Germany.

Rosicky adds to Czech injury woes

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:49:00 GMT

Tomas Rosicky will miss the Czech Republic's FIFA World Cup warm-up against Costa Rica on Tuesday because of a thigh injury.

Cultures clash in friendly battle

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:36:00 GMT

FIFAworldcup.com runs an analytical eye over what the nine FIFA World Cup participants in action today hope to gain from the warm-up matches they have organised.

Pressure is on Saudi defender Al Montashiri

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Central defender Hamad Al Montashiri will need to show the qualities that made him 2005 Asian Footballer of the Year if Saudi Arabia are to reach the FIFA World Cup second round.

Ghana take surprise second ticket

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:51:00 GMT

FIFAworldcup.com takes a look back at Group E, which saw Italy and Ghana advance to the next stage while the USA could not recover from a poor start and Czech Republic were hit by injuries.

Disciplinary Summary & Preview for matches on 25 June 2006 (match no. 51-52)

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 11:08:00 GMT

Disciplinary Summary & Preview for matches on 24 June 2006 (match no. 51-52)

Advocaat names 'balanced' Korean squad

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:28:00 GMT

Korea Republic coach Dick Advocaat named a balanced and versatile squad on Thursday for next month's FIFA World Cup finals in Germany.