Argentina has qualified for the 2010 World Cup after the team, coached is the flamboyant Diego Maradona, beat Uruguay 1-0. The goal in the last round of South American qualifiers was scored by Mario Bolatti in the 84th minute.

The victory tops a remarkable come-back. Last month Argentina lost four out of five qualifying matches.  Last weekend's near-miraculous victory over Peru give renewed hope and the win against Uruguay has rescued Maradona and his team.

The enigmatic coach made use of the occasion to lash out against his critics who "treated me like garbage". "I am black or white, I'll never be gray in my life," said Maradona.

Brazil, Paraguay and Chile have also qualified for next year's World Cup, being held in South Africa. Uruguay is in fifth place and still has a chance to qualify during the play-offs. Next month the team will play Costa Rica, which ended fourth in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association of Football (CONCACAF) group. Ajax striker Luis Suarez plays for Uruguay.

Honduras won a surprise 1-0 victory over El Salvador in the CONCACAF group. It is the second time in history the Honduras has made it to the World Cup finals - the last time was in Spain in 1982. The coup and political crisis were temporarily forgotten as de facto president Roberto Micheletti declared Thursday a national holiday in honour of the country's World Cup qualification.

In Europe, Switzerland and Slovakia also managed to qualify for the World Cup.  Four other European countries are still in the race for the last four places in the finals: Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

Coach of Argentina's national team, Diego Maradona
Photo by Wikimedia Commons