While the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine continue to dominate the headlines, there are still important international matches taking place elsewhere.

In Africa, qualification for the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, has begun, and the Ivory Coast currently top Group C with four points.

They opened their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win against Tanzania, with both Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba scoring a goal apiece either side of the break.

Kalou struck first when he fired home from close-range following a goalmouth scramble inside 10 minutes, before captain Didier Drogba, whose statistics at present still count towards his Chelsea international record, evaded his marker and drilled home from the edge of the penalty area to seal the three points.

In the following game against Morocco, Ivory Coast had to be content with a point after surrendering the lead on two separate occasions.

It was Kalou who opened the scoring again, when he raced through on goal to score with a wonderful chip, and while Morocco equalised courtesy of a Houcine Kharja penalty, Manchester City's Kolo Toure looked to have won the game with a close-range header.

However, as the clock ticked down and with the points seemingly in the bag, Hamza Abdourazzouk stole a point for Eric Gerets' side when he headed home in the dying minutes.

Both Nigeria and Ghana have also been in action, although neither John Mikel Obi or Michael Essien are currently representing their home nations.

Ghana got their campaign off to a stunning start with a 7-0 thumping of Lesotho in Group D, while Nigeria beat Namibia 1-0, before being held to a 1-1 draw by Malawi in Group F.

Meanwhile, David Luiz, currently away with the Brazilian national squad as they prepare for the London Olympics, was an unused substitute during the 4-3 friendly defeat to rivals Argentina in New Jersey.