Fans across the globe knew joy and despair as the final whistle blew and their team either clinched a place at next year's World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa or returned home empty handed.

In a major upset, Slovenia - ranked 49th in the world - beat Russia in the second leg play-off to claim a place in South Africa. Russia, which finished the match with just nine men, lost 1-0. The result is a major blow for Russia's Dutch manager Guus Hiddink who was once dubbed 'lucky Mr Hiddink' by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Portugal had a narrow 1-0 win over Bosnia but the victory did give the Portuguese a 2-0 aggregate victory in the two-match playoffs. Greece overcame Ukraine 1-0 in Donetsk after being held to a goalless draw in the first round home match.
 

Algeria also claimed a place in the 2010 Soccer World Championships, beating Egypt by 1-0 in a match in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The second round had to be played on neutral territory after the first round was marred by violence.
 

France progressed to the finals after a 1-1 draw with Ireland which gave them a 2-1 aggregate win. The Irish felt hard done by though as French star Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball before passing it to William Gallas for the French equaliser late in extra time.

Uruguay also made it through to the 2010 World Cup finals after a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Uruguay went through 2-1 after winning the first game 1-0. The match was held up for five minutes after a fight broke out between a Uruguay camera crew and the Costa Rica bench.