Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino scored a late hat-trick to rescue Azzurri as they came back from 2-0 down to beat Cyprus 3-2 at the Ennio Tardini stadium.

Spain made it 10 wins out of 10 to qualify for World Cup 2010 with a perfect record after a 5-2 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Gerard Pique, David Silva, Juan Mata, Edin Dzeko and Zvjezdan Misimovic all scored for La Roja.

Olof Mellberg scored two first-half goals as Sweden beat Albania 4-1. However Portugal’s 4-0 victory over Malta condemned them to elimination. Marcus Berg and Anders Svensson also scored for the Swedes.

Koln striker Lukas Podolski scored in the 90th minute, giving Germany a 1-1 draw against Finland on Wednesday night.

Croatia beat Kazakhstan 2-1 but it was not enough to make the playoffs for next summer’s World Cup Finals.

Sochaux striker Charlie Davies, who on Saturday helped the U.S. to qualify for the 2010 World Cup with a 3-2 road victory over Honduras, underwent surgery Tuesday after being injured in a single-car crash in the Washington, D.C. area.

Number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world Manny Pacquiao will be making his third appearance in the HBO documentary series “24/7”. The Emmy Award-winning show will feature the preparations leading to the “Pacquiao vs Cotto” match this coming November 14 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brazil’s 11-game winning streak came to an end as Bolivia edged the Selecao 2-1. First-half goals from Edgar Olivares and Marcelo Moreno put La Verde in control.

Alvaro Saborio scored twice and set-up another as Costa Rica thrashed the Soca Warriors in San Jose. The win boosts Ticos’ chances of automatically qualifying for South Africa.

Team USA clinched its sixth straight World Cup berth after a dramatic 3-2 win against Honduras on the road. Conor Casey scored two goals in the second half, and Landon Donovan added another for the Americans.

Mexico became the first country in CONCACAF region to clinch a World Cup berth, crushing El Salvador 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd at Estadio Azteca.