On Sunday, Lionel Messi spurned the chance to move back out in front as the top European marksman of 2017 after missing a penalty in Barcelona's 4-0 defeat of Deportivo on Sunday.PICK YOUR TEAM OF THE YEAR The Argentina forward failed to beat goalkeeper Rubén Martínez from the spot and also hit the woodwork on three occasions as he remained on 53 goals for club and country in the calendar year. He continues to share top spot with Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo, who drew level with Real Madrid's winner in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Saturday.Messi and Ronaldo
Tag: europes
Twelve down, two to go: Europe’s World Cup contenders
The play-off phase of the European Qualifiers is in full swing, with Switzerland and Croatia the first teams to join the nine sides who topped their sections to earn a place alongside hosts Russia at next summer's FIFA World Cup. The final tournament draw takes place in Moscow on 1 December and the finals run from 14 June to 15 July.WATCH QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS UEFA qualifiers: Belgium, Croatia*, England, France, Germany (holders), Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia (hosts), Serbia, Spain, Switzerland**Via play-offsThere are still two European places up for grabs from the remaining pla... UEFA.com - News
Ten down, four to go: Europe’s World Cup contenders
The group phase of the European Qualifiers has concluded, with the nine teams who topped their sections earning places alongside hosts Russia at next summer's FIFA World Cup. The final tournament draw takes place in Moscow on 1 December and the finals run from 14 June to 15 July.UEFA qualifiers: Belgium, England, France, Germany (holders), Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia (hosts), Serbia, Spain There are still four European places up for grabs, contested by the eight best runners-up (Slovakia miss out), with the play-offs scheduled between 9 and 14 November.
Goals per game: Europe’s top international scorers
Cristiano Ronaldo's longevity and consistency as an international goalscorer is not in dispute; qualifying included, he has made more outfield appearances in FIFA World Cups and UEFA European Championships than any other player, and scored more goals, but in terms of strikes per game, his score of 0.63 (rounded up from 0.6288) leaves him a good way down our all-time standings.Poland's Robert Lewandowski (0.72 goals per game) is the only current international who makes it into our top ten. For our calculations, we included only players who had scored a minimum of 20 goals in World Cups and EUROs (qualifying and
Final standings: Messi tops Europe’s leading league scorers
Lionel Messi could not hold on to be the campaign's top UEFA Champions League marksman, but has finished as the top scorer in Europe's top domestic leagues for 2016/17.Messi's tally of 37 goals from 34 Liga outings proved to be insurmountable. Edinson Cavani and Bas Dost came second and third respectively, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski the only other players to hit 30 or more. The leading eight scorers (seven nationalities) all ply their trade in one of Europe's top seven leagues according to UEFA coefficient rankings. Yet the most prolific striker of the 2016/17 season was found in Gibraltar,
Who are the top one-club men in Europe’s top leagues?
After 25 seasons, Francesco Totti made his 786th and final appearance for home-town club Roma on Sunday. It got us thinking: with the 40-year-old bowing out, who are the longest-serving one-club men still playing in Europe's top leagues? Here's what we found ...CriteriaPlayers must have spent their entire senior career with the same club, and must never have played for another team – even on loan. We looked at the top eight leagues according to the UEFA coefficients. Spain: Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)Seasons: 15, competitive appearances: 624... UEFA.com - News
Europe’s footballing brothers and sisters
Tomáš Necid's winter move from Bursaspor to Legia Warszawa means that both he and his sister, Simona Necidová, could potentially play UEFA club competition games this season.A forward for Slavia Praha – where her big brother also started his career – 23-year-old Necidová featured in the UEFA Women's Champions League for a third successive campaign in 2016/17. Both she and her brother played in Europe in 2014/15 too – Necid for Zwolle, Necidová for Slavia – and the Czech internationals watch out for each other's results. "I am really proud that she has been doin... UEFA.com - News