FIFA.com chatted to teenage playmaker Douglas Costa about life at Shakhtar Donetsk, his character and playing style, and being part of Mano Menezes’s Brazil squad.

Belarus won 1-0 in France as Portugal were held 4-4 by visiting Cyprus, while Italy's Antonio Cassano, Fernando Torres of Spain and England talisman Wayne Rooney inspired victories.

Fernando Torres scored twice as Spain won 4-0 in Liechtenstein, while Scotland were held to a goalless draw away to Lithuania in their Group I opener.

Laurent Blanc's first competitive match as France coach ended in a shock 1-0 defeat to Belarus, dealing an early blow to their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying bid.

Filip Holosko's stoppage-time strike ensured Slovakia made a winning start to their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign at the expense of 10-man FYR Macedonia this evening.

Croatia cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Latvia in the opening game of their UEFA EURO 2012 Group F qualifying campaign.

Moldova capitalised on Finland defender Sami Hyypia’s first-half red card, scoring two unanswered goals after the break to make a successful start to their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign.

Roma striker Mirko Vucinic enhanced his soaring reputation by firing Montenegro to a 1-0 win over Wales in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier tonight.

Pontus Wernbloom's first international goals helped Sweden launch their bid to reach the UEFA EURO 2012 finals with a comfortable 2-0 home victory.

Italy survived a scare as they came back from a goal down to escape from Tallinn with a 2-1 victory over Estonia in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group C.

Scotland failed to capitalise on their territorial advantage in their UEFA EURO 2012 opener in Lithuania as Craig Levein's competitive debut as manager ended goalless.

Jermain Defoe hit a hat-trick as England romped to a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying game at Wembley tonight.

Miroslav Klose struck in the second half to give Germany a 1-0 win over Belgium in tonight's UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier.

Pavel Pogrebnyak scored a goal in each half to earn Russia a 2-0 victory away to Andorra in their UEFA EURO 2008 curtain-raiser.

Danko Lazovic set Serbia on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying match in Torshavn.

Turkey made a perfect start to life under Guus Hiddink by confidently beating Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 European Championship qualifying match.

The Republic of Ireland made a flying start to their UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying campaign with a gritty 1-0 win in their Group B opener against Armenia.

Former USA forward Brian McBride, who has spent the last two years with the Chicago Fire, will retire at the end of the 2010 season.

FIFA.com takes a look at hosts Trinidad and Tobago, who look to be hitting their stride at just the right time under legendary Norwegian tactician Even Pellerud.

Goals in each half from Andranik and Mohammad Gholami helped Iran beat China 2-0 in a friendly at Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium.