Argentina hit for six in Bolivia

Bolivia ended Argentina's 100 per cent record under Diego Maradona in emphatic fashion with a 6-1 victory in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying.

Striker Joaquin Botero led the charge with a hat-trick that included a penalty, while Marcelo Martins, Didi Torrico and Brazilian-born Alex da Rosa shared the others. Luis Gonzalez replied for the visitors, who suffered their worst defeat since an infamous 5-0 home loss to Colombia in 1993.

Argentina's misery was completed when substitute Angel di Maria was sent off after only seven minutes on the pitch. Maradona's team have 19 points from 12 games in the 10-team South American Zone while Bolivia have 12 points.

Argentina's attempts to keep possession were thwarted as the ball bobbled on the difficult pitch, while Maradona looked on helplessly. Bolivia employed their usual tactic of peppering the visitors goal with long-range shots, hoping the unusual flight of the ball would catch out goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.

Carrizo had already turned away one Martins shot before Bolivia went ahead in the 12th minute when the Ukraine-based forward scrambled the ball in after a mix-up in the defence. Torrico then hit the crossbar with a 30-metre effort.

Lionel Messi nearly pulled one back in the 20th minute when he ran from the halfway line, played a one-two with Carlos Tevez and scooped the ball over Carlos Arias who just managed to tip it away. Five minutes later, Luis Gonzalez levelled with a speculative 40-metre shot which bounced awkwardly six metres in front of goal and flew over Arias into the net.

Bolivia regained the lead eight minutes later when Javier Zanetti was judged to have fouled Da Rosa and Botero converted the penalty. In the 45th minute, Arias sent a long goal kick up field to Botero who got behind the Argentina defence and pulled the ball back for Da Rosa to head the third.

Botero, who plays in the Mexican second division for Correcaminos, headed Bolivia's fourth in the 54th minute. He completed his hat-trick 11 minutes later when he latched on to a chipped ball forward and slipped a neat finish past Carrizo for his eighth goal of the qualifiers.

Di Maria, who came on for Maxi Rodriguez in the 57th minute, was sent off for a wild lunge at Ronald Garcia seven minutes later.

Germany stroll to victory

Germany took another ominous step towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ but at least Wales' youngsters were not humiliated at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Wales boss John Toshack can at least be thankful for that small mercy after the soul-searching which followed Saturday's embarrassing home defeat to Finland, but the points in World Cup Group 4 were always heading to a Germany side which was never stretched.

Toshack made five changes from the side which lost so miserably to Finland. He lost skipper Craig Bellamy earlier today with a recurrence of his knee problem, while Jason Koumas was out with a hip problem. Elsewhere he axed Chris Gunter, Carl Fletcher and David Edwards, bringing in Sam Ricketts following suspension, Ashley Williams, Robert Earnshaw, Sam Vokes and Aaron Ramsey, for his full debut.

Germany made just one change from the side which beat Liechtenstein, Simon Rolfes taking over from Marcell Jansen. Wales were captained by Simon Davies in Bellamy's absence with a totally reconstructed side around the Fulham man.

Germany took the lead after just 11 minutes when Ballack unleashed a swerving drive from 30 yards that crashed into the top corner past Wayne Hennessey.

To their credit Wales side were running and fighting for every ball as the Germans' passing game threatened to overrun them.

And they were getting forward. Ramsey, 18, up against Ballack in midfield, was looking for space and trying to keep possession of the ball and had two efforts on goal charged down on the edge of the box. Wales had a decent chance to equalise after 21 minutes. Ricketts crossed from the right, Vokes headed down and Earnshaw saw his close-range effort blocked by Robert Enke.

Joe Ledley then surged into the box to be brought down by Serdar Tasci, the defender looking to handle the ball as he fell. Germany's menace increased and Hennessey plunged to his left to keep out a 20-yarder from Thomas Hitzlsperger after a tapped free-kick. Then Mario Gomez drove just wide from outside the box.

Hennessey saved superbly from a fierce shot from Lukas Podolski, the Germans looking dangerous every time they came forward, but Wales were showing spirit and when Gareth Bale lifted a free-kick into the box, James Collins rose to head narrowly wide.

After an encouraging first half Wales did not need a stroke of bad luck just three minutes into the second period. Collins had held up Gomez on the right and looked to have run the ball out but the Stuttgart striker kept the ball in. His low cross to the near post was then stabbed past Hennessey by Williams' out-stretched boot for Germany's second.

England leave it late

John Terry came to England's rescue with an 86th-minute header to keep Fabio Capello's 2010 FIFA World Cup™ road train steaming towards South Africa.

When Chelsea misfit Andriy Shevchenko flashed home an equaliser for Ukraine, who were trailing to Peter Crouch's opener, that familiar Wembley gloom started to descend. It took Terry to raise the roof, smartly steering home Steven Gerrard's knock-down from a trademark David Beckham free-kick to make it five Group Six wins on the trot for Capello and his boys. Capello's double-fisted victory celebration emphasised the importance of Terry's goal.

As tonight's opponents must meet Croatia on 6 June, the same day as England take on Kazakhstan, the Three Lions will return to base to face Andorra four days later knowing their place at the biggest stage of all could be virtually secure four months ahead of schedule. This was not a fluent England performance. There was too much hesitancy and too many unforced errors for that.

Full-backs Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole were among the culprits, so too was Steven Gerrard, who needlessly gave the ball away close to his own area; not that the Ukraine side could take advantage. Most obvious though was David James' misread of Anatoliy Tymoshchuk's long-range shot which bounced off his shoulder.

Sixteen months ago against Croatia, Scott Carson made the same kind of blunder and the ball squirmed in. This time it bounced kindly for John Terry, who blasted it out of the England penalty area. Capello has proved to be better than McClaren in a number of areas. Crucially, it seems he also enjoys better luck.

England were already in front by that stage, thanks to one of the flashes of inspiration which were the opening period's staple diet. Wayne Rooney provided it with a deft flicked header that bounced wide off a defender to earn England a corner which Frank Lampard dropped on to the head of Chelsea team-mate John Terry.

The England skipper could not get enough power into his effort to cause any damage himself. What he did manage to do was guide it into the path of Crouch, who turned smartly and let fly with a six-yard volley which cannoned into Andrii Piatov before zooming into the net.

Yet if the Portsmouth star's 15th international goal was the tangible evidence of England's bright new world, the performance of Rooney was a pretty spectacular supporting act. Although there were occasional glimpses of frustration when England's approach work did not match his expectation, they were outweighed by moments of pure genius.

The overhead kick that brushed the roof of Piatov's net after just seven minutes was awesome in its simplicity and he looked well set to burst clear inside the Ukraine penalty area when he was mercilessly chopped down on England's next attack.

Steven Gerrard curled the free-kick narrowly wide after Rooney had been upended. The Liverpool star also got on the end of Rooney's low cross at the end of the half, only for Piatov to make a solid save to repel the side-footed shot.

The belated introduction of Shevchenko ten minutes into the second-half offered the visiting fans something to cheer, even, as if to ensure the Ukrainians were drowned out, Capello responded by bringing on David Beckham for his 110th cap.

By that point, Rooney had embarked on another startling run which began just inside the visitors' half and left four defenders trailing in his wake before his shot fizzed wide, Piatov uncertain whether he needed to try and keep it out or not.

Rooney continued to sprinkle the game with his unique talent. Unfortunately, after two years at Chelsea doing little to justify his £30million price tag and vast salary, Shevchenko finally did something worthy of his reputation. His instinctive finish looked like wrecking England's 100 per cent record. After 24 ill-fated months at Stamford Bridge, he should have known Terry a bit better than that.

Spain triumph in Turkey

Liverpool duo Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso were on target as Spain came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over Turkey at the Ali Sami Yen stadium and retain their 100 per cent record in 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifying.

Star striker David Villa had been ruled out because of knee problems and, in the Valencia striker's absence, Vicente Del Bosque fielded Fernando Torres as a lone striker in front of a five-man midfield. Riera, Carlos Marchena and David Silva also came into the side from Saturday's 1-0 Group 5 win over the Turks in Madrid.

However, it was Turkey, unchanged from the match in Madrid, who went in front in the 26th minute. A long pass from Arda Turan into Spanish territory reached Tuncay Sanli, who in turn fed Semih Senturk to finish with applomb.

Spain's equaliser came in the shape of a Xabi Alonso penalty in the 62nd minute after Ibrahim Uzulmez had handled the ball in the area following a Torres header at the far post. The winner then arrived in the second minute of injury time when substitute Daniel Guiza went down the right flank and crossed for Riera to put the ball through the keeper's legs.

Latvia too strong for Luxembourg

Maris Verpakovskis scored one goal and set up the other in Latvia's 2-0 win over Luxembourg in their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ European Zone Group 2 qualifier.

Jurijs Zigajevs opened the scoring a minute before half-time from a pass by Verpakovskis.

Verpakovskis himself then put the result beyond doubt 15 minutes from time

Luxembourg struggled against the Latvian defence and did not pose any serious threat to home keeper Andis Vanins.

Bahrain victory makes Aussies wait

Bahrain defeated Qatar 1-0 today, forcing Australia to wait a little longer to secure their ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

The Socceroos had earlier beaten Uzbekistan 2-0 in Sydney to go back to the top of Asian Zone, Group A, and would have become the first nation to qualify for the finals had this match between the two Gulf neighbours ended in a draw. Bahrain's victory was assured by striker Fouzi Aaish, who scored the all-important goal in the 52nd minute from a free-kick.

Bahrain are now third in the table with seven points. Australia top the pool with 13 points, while Japan, who did not play today, are second with 11. Uzbekistan and Qatar are on four points apiece.

The top two teams will qualify for South Africa 2010, with the third-placed side facing a play-off against their Group B counterparts for the right to compete against New Zealand for a berth at the FIFA World Cup.

Aaish's goal came from a low, curling shot struck from just outside the Qatar penalty area, which beat the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Ahmed Mohammed on the way into the far corner of the net.

Bahrain came close to doubling the lead later in the second half. Jaycee John first made a good solo move from the left, but his shot from close range struck the side netting. A few minutes later Aa'la Hubail's attempt was well saved by a diving Qatar goalkeeper Mohammed.

Both teams had their share of shots on goal in the first-half, but neither managed to hit the target. Khalfan Al Khalfan provided the first scare for the hosts early on when he burst free from the left, but his shot struck the post.

Qatar continued to pile on the pressure and midway through the first half, the Uruguay-born striker Sebastian Soria came close to scoring from a free-kick taken from just outside the penalty area. His shot breached the Bahrain wall, but goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer averted danger with a reflex save.

Bahrain made sporadic moves and like Qatar hit the post once. But their best chance came towards the end of first half, when the tall Sayed Mohammed Adnan did well to connect a Mohammed Salmeen free-kick from the left before his header brushed past the upright.

Korea Republic snatch derby win

A late goal from substitute Kim Chi-Woo gave Korea Republic a vital win over Group 2 rivals Korea DPR in their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ qualifier in Seoul.

With the game between the top two heading for a draw, Kim's strike snatched the victory which puts the 2002 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists clear at the top of the standings and in reach of a seventh successive finals appearance. Korea DPR, meanwhile, slip to second after their first defeat of the campaign.

In comparison to the four draws played out by the rivals in 2008, it was an entertaining affair especially after the break, when both sides had chances. The visitors almost took the lead straight from the first whistle as Hong Yong-Jo pounced upon a loose ball outside the area and fired a vicious shot that a flying Lee Woon-Jae just managed to turn away for a corner.

After the explosive start, the action steadied for the rest of the opening period as both sides sized each other up. Korea Republic's first real effort on goal came midway through the first half as defender Hwang Jae-Won headed a Ki Sung-Yung free-kick over the bar.

The home side started to gain the upper hand and after 27 minutes Park Chu-Young's downward header found Park Ji-Sung on the edge of the six-yard box, but under heavy pressure from white shirts, the Manchester United man shot straight at Ri Myung-Guk.

Korea DPR started the second half as they started the first and Jong Tae-se almost got the visitors on the scoresheet. The Kawasaki Frontale forward met Hong's cross but his powerful header looked goalbound until it was clawed away on the line by Lee.

The hosts should have broken the deadlock in the 65th minute when a Park Chu-Young shot found its way to an unmarked Lee Keun-Ho in the penalty area but the striker fired straight at the goalkeeper. That was as close as both teams came to scoring until three minutes from time when Kim's floated free-kick from the right side caused confusion in the visiting defence and ended up going straight into the back of the net.