A night of unrelenting emotion ended in joy for South Africa and Cape VerdeIslands and sorrow for Morocco and Angola as the four Group A teams served up an African Nations Cup treat on Sunday.
Tiny Cape Verde Islands catapulted themselves into surprise World Cup contention with a 2-1 victory away to South Africa.
Egypt become third African country to qualify for World Cup
Cape Verde rarely played international football some 25 years ago but now head to next year's finals in North America as one of the nine African representatives.
A guide to travel in 2026.
Samuel Eto'o will end a lengthy international suspension next month after being recalled by Cameroon for an African Nations Cup first round first leg qualifier against Cape Verde Islands.
Ghana and Mali took contrasting routes to join Ivory Coast, South Africa and Cape VerdeIslands in the African Nations Cup quarter-finals on Monday.
South Africa closed in on the African Nations Cup knockout stages with a win on Wednesday while debutantsCape VerdeIslands narrowly failed to do the same as Group A came alive after its moribund start.
Samuel Eto'o has rejected the chance to make a comeback for Cameroon, saying the team environment is still plagued by 'amateurism and bad management'.
Angola and Kenya were eliminated from the 2010 World Cup finals after failing to make the cut in the African qualifiers.
Unable to resume their journey to Europe and then home to Japan and unwilling to head to the African mainland, where virus cases are spiking, they had to trade their skills with domestic businesses to earn funds in the absence of work visas.
Senegal showed their teeth on the opening day of qualifiers for the 2021 African Cup of Nations but other continental heavyweights struggled to find form on Wednesday.
It was a first Cup of Nations success for Senegal after two lost finals in 2002 and 2019.
Coach Branko Ivankovic insisted China's World Cup qualifying campaign was still alive despite back-to-back losses to Saudi Arabia and Australia over the last five days leaving them bottom of Asian qualifying Group C.
US Open champion Martin Kaymer sank an eight-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole to beat Bubba Watson in the four-man PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Wednesday.
Under Blatter, FIFA has handed its development money out strategically. Members of FIFA with only tiny populations have often received as much in grant money as those with massive populations.
The Zika virus, an alarming and disturbing infection that may be linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains, is spreading through the Americas. But what is the virus, how is it spread and how can people minimise the chances of catching it?
Charlotte Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor was suspended 24 games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday after pleading guilty last month to misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.