Another busy day of World Cup qualification spanning the globe saw three more teams book their ticket to South Africa. England, Spain, and Paraguay now mean that 11 nations have qualified for next year's competition.
In England, revenge was sweet against Croatia, as two goals apiece from midfield stalwarts Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard keyed a 5-1 romp. Fabio Capello's side has now won all eight of their qualification matches, and could complete a perfect run in qualification if they win their last two games.
Elsewhere in Europe, Spain benefited from a slip up from Bosnia and Herzegovina to seal their group. They cruised to a 3-0 win over Estonia behind goals from Santi Carzola, Cesc Fabregas and Juan Manuel Mata, wrapping up Group 5 in UEFA.
Last but not least, Paraguay ensured that Diego Maradona's woes continued, dropping Argentina by a 1-0 score in Asuncion. Nelson Valdez grabbed the game's lone goal, and it was enough to send his country to their fourth World Cup in a row.
Here's a look at some other important results from yesterday:
France 1, Serbia 1
The stage was set for the Serbian team. Playing in front of their home crowd in Belgrade, the upstart side needed to only brush aside a poor French side. Things looked even better when French goalie Hugo Lloris was sent off in the ninth minute and Nejad Milijas scored from the subsequent penalty. Thierry Henry leveled proceedings when the Serbian keeper failed to deal with a long Nicolas Anelka shot. Henry snuck in and tucked the rebound in to earn the draw.
Cameroon 2, Gabon 1
With the struggles of Portugal and Argentina raising the possibility of superstars missing out on the World Cup, Samuel Eto'o scored the game winner to give Cameroon the upper hand. However, they have a one point lead in Group A, just a point in front of Gabon and two in front of Togo.
Bahrain 2, Saudi Arabia 2
The Asian playoff was a wild one out in Riyadh. With the game locked at 1-1 for most of the second half, an injury time goal from Saudi Arabia's Hamad Al-Montashari looked to give the hosts the win. But Bahrain's Ismael Abdullatif netted a last minute equalizer to give the visitors the victory on away goals. Bahrain will face New Zealand for a spot in the finals.
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What do you think of England, Spain and Paraguay booking their ticket? Will those three contend in South Africa? Who is going to make the Cup our of either New Zealand or Bahrain?
Share your thoughts below.
