WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION
France win as Nigeria, Cameroon qualify
EUROPEAN PLAY-OFFS
France overcame a resilient Ireland side to put themselves in control of their World Cup play-off, with Nicolas Anelka scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Raymond Domenech's side.
AP
Damien Duff is dejected after France take the lead
Ireland battled hard but were undone as Anelka's 72nd minute shot deflected off Sean St Ledger and past a wrong-footed Shay Given.
It was Giovanni Trapattoni's first defeat of the qualifying campaign and gives the French a precious away goal ahead of the second-leg on Wednesday.
A header by Bruno Alves gave Portugal a valuable 1-0 win over Bosnia in their first-leg encounter but Carlos Queiroz's side missed a host of chances to put the tie beyond doubt.
Portugal dominated the first half-hour, with Nani exploiting space on the right wing to give Emir Spahic a torrid time. The hosts took a deserved lead after 31 minutes when Nani crossed for Alves to head in unchallenged at the far post.
Nejc Pecnik grabbed what could prove a crucial late away goal for Slovenia, though Russia, held on for a 2-1 win courtesy of a brace from Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.
Bilyaletdinov opened the scoring just before half-time after tip-toeing around centre-halves Suler and Bostjan Cesar before finishing powerfully. And the Everton midfielder doubled the lead after 52 minutes with a calm finish before Pecnik kept Slovenia's hopes alive with a close range header two minutes from time.
Greece and Ukraine's qualifying play-off tie remains in the balance after the two teams played out a 0-0 draw in Athens.
Theofanis Gekas, the overall top scorer in qualifying with 10 goals, wasted Greece's best chance while Ruslan Rotan was guilty of poor finishing for the visitors on a night when both sides cancelled each other out at the Olympic Stadium.
Ukraine looked dangerous going forward on the break but it was the home side who almost snatched a vital win through defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos, but the defender headed Kostas Katsouranis' right-wing cross wide of the left post with only seconds remaining.
AFRICA
Egypt kept their World Cup dream alive with a dramtic 2-0 victory over Algeria in Cairo that means the two sides will meet again in a one-off play-off in Sudan on Wednesday to determine which nation will be heading to South Africa.
AP
Egypt fans celebrate their late goal which mean they will play against Algeria for a place at World Cup 2010
Amr Zaki's second minute goal gave the Egyptians a perfect start but they couldn't build on the advantage and it looked like the Algerians would hang on for a first finals appearance since 1986. But deep into stoppage time, substitute Emad Moteab's headed in to give Egypt the winning margin they needed.
The result leaves both sides with identical records at the top of Group C with four wins, one draw, one defeat, nine goals scored and four conceded. The head-to-head record is also deadlocked after because Algeria won the reverse fixture 3-1.
In the group's other fixture, Rwanda and Zambia played out a 0-0 draw that saw the Zambians hang on to third spot in the group and qualify for the African Nations Cup.
Against the odds, Nigeria qualified for their fourth finals after coming from behind to beat Kenya 3-2 in Nairobi and top Group B. The Super Eagles were two points behind group leaders Tunisia before the game but a shock defeat to Mozambique opened the door for the Nigerians as a brace from Obafemi Martins proved decisive.
Nigeria had been behind at half-time after a 15th-minute goal from Denis Oliech but two goals in three second-half minutes from Martins and Yabuku Aiyegbeni put the visitors ahead.Allen Wettende equalised for the Kenyans but Martins grabbed the winner in the 83rd minute to send the Super Eagles through.
Tunisia threw away their chance to make the finals, after a surprise 1-0 loss to Mozambique. Tunisia played a defensive game as a point would have been enough to see them book a place in South Africa but they were punished for sitting back as a late goal from veteran striker Dario ended the Tunisian World Cup dream and handed Mozambique a spot in January's African Nations Cup.
Cameroon will join Nigeria at next year's World Cup after goals from Pierre Webo and Samuel Eto'o secured a 2-0 victory over Morocco and a sixth finals berth - a record for an African nation.
Webo opened the scoring after 19 minutes and captain Eto'o grabbed the second after half-time with a shot from the outside of his boot - his ninth goal in 11 starts in the 2010 qualifiers.
Cameroon had been bottom of Group A earlier this year, which led to the firing of German coach Otto Pfister. But with Frenchman Paul Le Guen at the helm the Indomitable Lions won their last four qualifiers to come from behind and book their place at the finals.
Gabon's hopes of a fist World Cup appearance were ended with the result in Morocco but they would have been out of contention anyway after losing 1-0 in Togo.
Before the match, Togo's star striker Emmanuel Adebayor promised to double his team-mates' match bonus if they won and a 71st minute goal from Floyd Ayite handed the Togolese players an extra reward, as they also confirmed African Nations Cup qualification.
In Group E, already qualified Ivory Coast cruised to a 3-0 victory over Guinea with a brace from Yao Kouassi Gervinho helping the Elephants complete In the group's other game, Burkina Faso beat Malawi 1-0 to confirm second place, though Malawi still qualified for the Africa Nations Cup.
In the Group D dead rubber, Benin won 2-1 in Sudan to seal second place in the group behind Ghana, who drew 2-2 with Mali on Sunday.
CONMEBOL-CONCACAF PLAY-OFF
Uruguay edged ahead of Costa Rica in the battle of the Americas by snatching a 1-0 lead in the first leg of their intercontinental play-off.
Diego Lugano scored the only goal on Costa Rica's plastic pitch in the first half a contest that saw the Ticos reduced to ten men when Randall Azofeifa was sent off for a second yellow card. The last qualifier for South Africa 2010 will be discovered when the second leg takes place in Montevideo on Wednesday.
OCEANIA-ASIA PLAY-OFF
New Zealand claimed their place at next year's World Cup finals with a pulsating 1-0 win over Bahrain in the second leg of their play-off.
AP
New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ryan Nelsen celebrate reaching the World Cup
Striker Rory Fallon headed home the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time, while goalkeeper Mark Paston also saved a penalty to see the All Whites through to South Africa.
In front of a 35,194 fans - a record crowd for a New Zealand football game - at Wellington's Westpac Stadium, the All Whites repeated the efforts of the national team of 1982 to edge out Bahrain 1-0 on aggregate.
SOUTH AMERICA-CENTRAL AMERICA PLAY-OFF
Uruguay took a big step towards qualifying for the World Cup finals after beating ten-man Costa Rica 1-0 away from home in the first leg of their qualifying play-off.
A first-half goal from Diego Lugano gave Oscar Washington Taberez's side strong hopes of playing in South Africa next year, following their failure to qualify for the finals Germany in 2006.
