This weekend has seen a number of World Cup qualifiers and the first countries from Europe and Asia to make it to South Africa in 2010. The first to qualify were a trio from the Asia groupings; Japan, South Korea and Australia.

First out was Japan after a hard fought 1-0 victory against Uzbekistan to give them a place in the finals for the fourth time in succession. South Korea secured a place in their seventh successive finals after beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Dubai. Australia made it through without conceding a single goal in their six qualifiers. A 0-0 draw against Qatar was enough to give them an unassailable 14 points in their qualifying group.

First to qualify from Europe were the Dutch after 2-1 win away to Iceland meant they had gone unbeaten in their first six games. Serbia and England can move within touching distance of qualifying if they win on Wednesday.

Other news this past week. Following a FIFA Executive Committee decision the refereeing experiment with five officials that was trialled at the U19 Championships last autumn will be extended to include next season's UEFA Europa League. The system involves an extra official behind each goal line to watch out for incidents in the penalty area.

The English Premier League will see a new international face again next season when Italian Carlo Ancelotti arrives at Stamford Bridge to take over at Chelsea. He will be the club's fifth manager in two years and has declared his priority will be to lead the team to victory in the Champions League, one step further than the five semi-finals they've reached in the last six years.

All the best.