Substitute Mario Bolatti scored in the 85th minute to push Argentina past Uruguay 1-0 on Wednesday night and send the South American football power through to next year's World Cup.

I'm traveling with a chunk of gold -- the World Cup Trophy -- from Zurich, Switzerland to Cairo, Egypt. When CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief Kim Norgaard suggested I fly from Zurich to Cairo to cover the arrival of the World Cup trophy in Africa in the lead-up to the games in South Africa next summer, I thought he was joking. Kim, an unabashed football (soccer) fanatic, knows I'm, well, skeptical about a group of grown men paid hefty salaries to ...

Football legend Diego Maradona had his earrings seized by Italian authorities Friday to help pay off his back taxes, according to media reports. The current coach of Argentina's national team was staying at a clinic in northern Italy in a bid to lose weight when finance police swooped, Reuters.com reported. The jewelry was said to be worth €4,000 ($5,888). Italian tax authorities say he owes the country €31 million ($45 million) in back taxes from when he played for top ...

Fidel Castro told Argentina's president Wednesday that he watched U.S. President Obama's inauguration on TV, apparently belying widespread speculation that the former Cuban leader had suffered a major relapse or died, Argentina's official news agency said. Castro said he believes that Obama is "a sincere person with good ideas," Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said in Cuba at the conclusion of her three-day visit to the island, the state-run Telam news agency said. "We talked about all subjects," Kirchner ...

Mexico and the United States both secured narrow 1-0 victories in their North and Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) zone games to maintain their momentum towards qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Trinidad and Tobago were sunk in the Port of Spain by a lone goal from Ricardo Clark, who shot powerfully past goalkeeper Clayton Ince after 62 minutes to seal the first away victory of the round for the American travelers. The win leaves Bob ...

Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard both scored twice as England booked their place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Croatia in their Group Six clash at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea midfielder Lampard converted a penalty in the eighth minute after Aaron Lennon was brought down inside the box following a clumsy challenge from Josip Simunic. Gerrard added a second for Fabio Capello's side in the 18th minute when he headed home an excellent ...

European champions Barcelona began the defense of the Spanish Primera Liga title with a 3-0 demolition of Sporting Gijon in the Camp Nou on Monday night. Barca were missing Lionel Messi, who is on international duty with Argentina, and injured key midfielder Andres Iniesta, but it made little difference against the visitors, who narrowly avoided relegation last season. Mali international midfielder Seydou Keita proved the main influence for the Catalan giants in the first half, setting up Bojan Krkic for ...

Brazil has confirmed 557 deaths caused by H1N1 flu, the highest total in the world, the nation's Health Ministry says. The United States has counted 522 fatalities through Thursday, and nearly 1,800 people had died worldwide through August 13, U.S. and global health officials said. In terms of mortality rate, which considers flu deaths in terms of a nation's population, Brazil ranks seventh, and the United States is 13th, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said in a news release Wednesday. ...

The government of de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti is not ready to sign a proposed agreement to end the country's ongoing political crisis, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said in Honduras. His remarks came on Tuesday at the conclusion of a two-day visit by a delegation of the Organization of American States. "Although the commission concludes that progress was made during its visit, it must recognize that there still no disposition toward full acceptance of the San Jose ...

The Argentina Supreme Court was deliberating a case Tuesday that would decriminalize possessing small quantities of some drugs, which would make Argentina the second Latin American country in the past four days to allow personal use.