De la Cruz celebrates qualification

De la Cruz was in fine fettle as he helped Ecuador seal a place in Germany thanks to a goalless draw against Uruguay, which confirmed a top-four finish in the CONMEBOL standings. Fifth, which begets a play-off with Australia, is still wide open and Juan Pablo Angel’s Colombia, who drew 1-1 with Chile on Saturday, will claim it if they better the result of Uruguay on Wednesday.

But there was misery in Africa, where Djemba-Djemba watched from the bench as Pierre Wome missed a last-gasp penalty as Cameroon were held to a 1-1 draw by Egypt, allowing the Ivory Coast to take top spot in Group 3.

In Europe, Milan Baroš’ hopes of the Czech Republic sealing automatic passage to the World Cup finals were ended at the hands of the Netherlands on Saturday. The 24-year-old striker won a penalty midway through the first half, but Tomáš Rosický failed from the spot, and the Dutch went onto claim a 2-0 win to seal Group 1, albeit without Wilfred Bouma, who was culled from the original 25-man party on Thursday.

Sweden might also have to go through the play-offs after a blunder from Olof Mellberg gifted Croatia a second-half penalty, which Darijo Srna duly converted. The Swedes now lie second in Group 8 but a draw against Iceland will be enough to see them progress as one of the best runners-up.

In Group 2, Thomas Sørenson was in sublime form as Denmark kept their slim hopes alive with a narrow win over European champions Greece. The result lifts them into third and they need to beat Kazakhstan and hope Turkey slip up in Albania. Finally, a well-struck goal from Steven Davis was not enough to give Northern Ireland a share of the spoils against Wales in Group 6.