World Cup qualifying: Ethiopia progress, South Africa knocked out

Ethiopia progressed to the African play-offs after knocking 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa out of the race to Brazil with a 2-1 win in Addis Ababa.

The come-from-behind victory means the Ethiopians cannot be caught in Group A, with one round of matches still left.

South Africa started perfectly when Bernard Parker scored after 33 minutes.

But Getaneh Kebede levelled just nine minutes before Parker scored a spectacular own goal after 70 minutes to hand Ethiopia victory.

Yet the East Africans’ passage to the final round of African qualifying was cast into doubt as Fifa announced disciplinary proceedings against them late on Sunday.

Should they avoid sanction, coach Sewnet Bishaw will hope to continue his success with Ethiopia – with the team a two-legged tie away from qualifying for the World Cup for the first time.

However, they are likely to face difficult foes when the play-off draw is made on 16 September as they are only ranked 29th in Africa - with the five best-ranked teams being seeded for the third and final round of qualifying. Read more