LONDON, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Being dropped from the England squad can be a soul-destroying experience but if any player is equipped to return stronger than ever then it's Shaun Wright-Phillips.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - The struggle for places in the final African qualifying phase for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa reaches a climax this weekend with 16 places up for grabs.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Malaysia faces losing the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) which it has hosted for nearly half a century, after relations with the sporting body soured.

ALMATY, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Lampooned in the hit film Borat as backward, racist and misogynist, Kazakhstan will look to their footballers to recover national pride when they face England in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

SYDNEY, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Coach Aurelio Vidmar Thursday warned his Adelaide United players to keep a lid on their expectations as they take a 3-0 lead into their AFC Champions' League semi-final return leg with Uzbekistan's Kuruvchi later this month.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Factfile for 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifying competition ahead of final second round fixtures this weekend (all times GMT):

Djibouti 1 Somalia 0 (1-0. First leg in Mogadishu cancelled because of insecurity)

Sierra Leone 1 Guinea Bissau 0 (1-0 0-0)

Madagascar 10 Comoros Islands 2 (6-2 4-0)

LONDON, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Theo Walcott has been giving his England team-mate Rio Ferdinand a sense of deja-vu ahead of Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan and the Manchester United defender has only just worked out why.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Monthly Africa football rankings released by world governing body FIFA Wednesday (first figure Africa ranking and second world ranking):

Democratic Republic of Congo 21 85

Cape Verde Islands 29 104

Equatorial Guinea 35 121

Comoros Islands 50 195

Central African Republic 52 199

PARIS, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Spain maintained their position as the number one team in the world in the latest FIFA rankings released on Wednesday, ahead of Italy and Germany.

The main moves in the top ten concerned Brazil, up two places into fourth while Russia climbed three spots into ninth.

1. Spain

2. Italy

3. Germany

4. Brazil (+2)

ADELAIDE, Australia, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Adelaide United took a giant stride towards their first AFC Champions League final on Wednesday but there was stalemate in Japan where Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds played out a 1-1 draw.