Fourteen more teams qualified for next year's World Cup finals, with England, Italy and the Netherlands leading the way in Europe.
Three other European teams also made it on Saturday -- Portugal, Croatia and Poland -- while Ukraine and host Germany had already advanced.
All five African spots were also filled, with Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Angola qualifying for the first time. Tunisia claimed the final spot from the region.
PHOTO: AP
Also, Paraguay and Ecuador joined already-qualified Brazil and Argentina from South America, while Costa Rica beat the United States 3-0 to earn the third berth out of CONCACAF. Mexico and the US have already qualified.
Four Asian teams -- Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea -- have already qualified for the tournament.
The Netherlands qualified with a 2-0 victory against the Czech Republic. Their win also meant England and Poland reached the finals of the 32-team tournament in Germany.
"It's a great feeling, we're going to the World Cup in Germany. I'm a guy that won't get many more chances," Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said.
England defeated Austria 1-0 on Frank Lampard's 24th-minute goal. Poland did not play but is guaranteed -- along with England -- of either winning Group 6, or finishing as one of the two best second-place teams.
Under European qualifying rules, the eight group winners and the two best second-place teams advance. The remaining six second-place teams play off next month for three more spots.
Rafael van der Vaart and Barry Opdam scored first-half goals for the Netherlands, which improved to 31 points in Group 1.
England survived after David Beckham was sent off in the 58th minute. He drew two yellow cards in a minute and will not play in the match against Poland in Manchester, England.
In Group 8, Croatia took the lead and guaranteed its place with a 1-0 victory over Sweden on Darijo Snra's penalty. Croatia's 23 points was enough for it to qualify at least as one of the two best second-place teams.
Italy qualified for the World Cup finals for the 12th straight time with a 1-0 win over Slovenia in Group 5. Second-half substitute Cristian Zaccardo converted a cross from Palermo teammate Fabio Grosso in the 78th minute.
Portugal, which needed only a draw to win Group 3, beat Liechtenstein 2-1. Benjamin Fisher made it 1-0 in the 33rd, but Pedro Pauleta equalized in the 49th and Nuno Gomes scored the winner in the 86th. Portugal improved to 27 points.
Four teams are still in the chase in Group 4. Israel leads with 18 points, followed by France and Switzerland with 17 and Ireland with 16.
Ireland stayed alive with a 1-0 win at Cyprus. Stephen Elliott scored in the sixth minute.
Switzerland and France played a 1-1 draw with Djibril Cisse scoring in the 52nd for France and Ludovic Magnin equalizing 27 minutes later. In the other game, Israel defeated the Faeroe Islands 2-1.
Togo was the biggest surprise in Africa, advancing at the expense of 2002 World Cup quarterfinalist Senegal.
The tiny west African country twice came back to beat Republic of Congo to 3-2, improving to 23 points in Group 1.
Senegal beat Malawi 3-0, but Togo needed only a draw to secure a spot in Germany.
Angola beat Rwanda 1-0 and advanced to the finals because of its better head-to-head record against Nigeria. Both teams finished with 21 points in Group 4.
Fabrice Akwa scored the winning goal in the 58th minute for Angola, while Nigeria crushed Zimbabwe 5-1.
"Great! Great! fantastic! I hope we try to do a good job in the World Cup," Akwa said.
Ghana had little trouble at Cape Verde Islands, winning 4-0 to secure first place in Group Two with 21 points.
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