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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Barda keeps Israel in the hunt

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:13:00 GMT

Elyaniv Barda scored a double as Israel kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for South Africa 2010 with a 3-1 win over Moldova.

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.

Last-gasp Andronic denies Greece

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:06:00 GMT

Valerui Andronic struck an injury-time equaliser to earn Moldova a 1-1 draw at home to Greece that reduced the visitors' qualification hopes.

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.

Moldova and Luxembourg share spoils

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:06:00 GMT

In a repeat of their first encounter in qualifying, Moldova and Luxembourg drew 0-0 to stay bottom and second-bottom of Group 2 respectively.

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.

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.

First point for Moldova

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:08:00 GMT

In a match which produced few chances, Luxembourg were unable to find a way past Moldova at home, despite two chances hitting the woodwork.

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.

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.

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.

From Europe to the world

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:38:00 GMT

Greece are looking to translate their recent success on the European stage into significant progress in FIFA World Cup football.

Benayoun (ISR): We should qualify

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:25:00 GMT

Yossi Benayoun: "If expectations up until now were exaggerated, they are realistic now: We should qualify for 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.