JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Ethiopia was stripped of three points in World Cup qualifying on Monday for fielding an ineligible player in a game against Botswana, handing South Africa a lifeline for next years tournament in Brazil. FIFA said Ethiopia forfeited its 2-1 win in Botswana on June 8 because Minyahile Beyene played in that game when he was suspended for receiving two yellow cards in earlier qualifiers. FIFA has awarded the match to Botswana 3-0. The sanction means Ethiopia is now only two points ahead of South Africa and three ahead of Botswana and not guaranteed a place in Africas final playoffs for the World Cup ahead of the final round of Group A games in September. FIFAs disciplinary committee also fined Ethiopias federation 6,000 Swiss francs ($6,348). The Ethiopian Football Federation is unlikely to appeal the punishment having already admitted that Minyahile should not have played in Botswana. Ethiopia beat South Africa 2-1 at home in its latest game on June 16 and thought then that it had qualified for the 10-team playoffs, which will decide Africas five countries at the World Cup in Brazil. Ethiopia has never played at the World Cup. However, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Ethiopia on the same day over Minyahiles eligibility. South Africa, on eight points, is at home to Botswana in the final round of games on Sept. 6. Ethiopia, now on 10 points, faces an away game against Central African Republic, which could be played in a neutral country because of ongoing unrest in the country. Botswana, now with seven points, also has an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs if it beats South Africa and Ethiopia loses to Central African Republic, which cannot qualify.Vapormax Plus White Ireland . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Vapormax Flyknit Ireland .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/vapormax-plus-wholesale-china.html . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Vapormax Plus Mens Ireland . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Cheap Vapormax Flyknit Ireland . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself.Wisconsin defeated three top 10 teams this year and lost by a touchdown to two others.Now comes the hard part of the schedule: Saturday at Northwestern (noon ET, ABC).Huh? Dont laugh.The Wildcats (4-4, 3-2), who come into the contest tied with the No. 8 Badgers (6-2, 3-2), Minnesota and Iowa for second place in the Big Tens West Division -- one game behind Nebraska, have been a genuine thorn in the side to their neighbors to the north. The two campuses are only 142 miles apart.Wisconsin hasnt won at Ryan Field since 1999, a span of 17 years. The teams have met 10 times since with the Wildcats claiming a 6-4 advantage, including all four games played in Evanston.So maybe for an outsider looking in the contest doesnt seem as big for Wisconsin as playing LSU in Lambeau Field or handing Nebraska its first loss of the season 23-17 in overtime last week, but Badgers coach Paul Chryst has preached to his squad the importance of remaining focused heading into a November stretch that also includes games with Illinois (2-6, 1-4), Purdue (3-5, 1-4) and a season-ending showdown with Minnesota (6-2, 3-2).I think it is easy to buy into what people may be saying on the outside as far as getting through the gauntlet and this being the easy part of the schedule, Wisconsin cornerback Sojourn Shelton told UWBadgers.com. No part of playing college football games (is) easy. Our whole thing is just not getting complacent. I think weve played pretty good football. Now its just staying consistent.Youve got to try and ignore all the outside noise because none of it matters, Chryst said. We know this is a tough stretch.Especially with the way Northwestern played in October. The Wildcats went 3-1 with road wins at Iowa 38-31 and Michigan State 54-40 and a home victory over Indiana 24-14. The lone loss came last week at No. 6 Ohio State 24-20.The 3-1 October helped take some of the sting away from a poor 1/3 September that included back-to-back home losses to Western Michigan 22-21 and Illinois State 9-7.Its easy to come and show up for an Ohio State, or a Michigan State or an Iowa -- weve got to show up every game, and its really biting us in the butt right now, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson said. Were a 4-4 football team, a .500 football team, and we know wwe shouldnt be.ddddddddddddorthwestern would have shared the division lead had it beaten Ohio State last SaturdayIt obviously didnt start the way we wanted it to, spotting them a couple scores, but the guys didnt flinch and kept swinging, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said after the game. And, you know, we ended up one punch short.Buckeyes running back Curtis Samuel ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 9:43 left to break a 17-17 tie for a 24-17 lead. The Wildcats drove to the Ohio State 3 but had to settle for a 33-yard Jack Mitchell field goal that cut the deficit to 24-20.Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett converted a pair of third downs on the late drive that ate up the clock and denied Northwestern a final possession.Thorson was 22 of 42 for 256 yards with a touchdown and a first-quarter interception for Northwestern. Austin Carr, the Big Tens leading receiver, caught eight passes for a career-high 158 yards while Garrett Dickerson had a career-best eight grabs for 43 yards and a TD.Thorson has 15 touchdown passes, tied with Dan Persa (2010) for ninth all-time in a season at Northwestern.Carr, who caught a pass in his 17th consecutive game, moved into seventh in school single-season history with 878 receiving yards.Meanwhile, Wisconsin used a strong running game, in particular from Corey Clement, to knock off Nebraska.Senior Dare Ogunbowale rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, Clement added 82 yards and freshman Bradrick Shaw scored a touchdown.I thought the run game was big, Chryst said.The passing game was a different matter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook started, but fifth-year senior Bart Houston ended the game. Hornibrook was 10 of 16 for 71 yards and a touchdown, while Houston completed 4 of 7 passes for 43 yards. Both quarterbacks threw an interception.There are a lot of things we need to work on in the quarterback room, Houston said.Chryst said Hornibrook will be the starter at quarterback against Northwestern. Hornibrook completed 75 of 131 passes for 948 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Houston is 52 of 84 for 629 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. ' ' '