There were no British representatives at the finals for the first time since the 1938 tournament in France.
Matters have certainly improved since 1966, when Asia and Africa between them had just one team at the finals: North Korea.
"I didn't see it but I did laugh, " said Dunne, whose side were denied a place at the finals by Thierry Henry's handball in the play-offs.
Speaking at the finals of Turkmenistan's first youth ice hockey tournament on Wednesday, the president ordered state enterprises and government departments to create ice hockey teams.
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Lightning's Greg Randall set up a close finish with his late goal, but the Bees saw out the remaining minutes to book their place at the finals in Coventry.
The Nigerian team, the Super Eagles, beat the Burkina Faso Stallions team 1-0 on Sunday at the finals in Soweto, South Africa to clinch the title of African champions.
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The Manchester United defender was set to skipper his country at the finals, but a knee injury suffered in a training ground clash with team-mate Emile Heskey saw his dreams ended.
England and Croatia were then drawn again in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and meet at Wembley next week in a match which could possibly confirm England's place at the finals.
Having followed the Ivorians and their orange-clad fans across Germany for BBC Sport, I remember thinking, upon their exit, how vital it was that arguably Africa's best side at the finals returned in 2010.
Nigeria only secured their fourth appearance at the finals after they leapfrogged Tunisia -- who slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Mozambique -- to finish a point ahead of them at the top of Group Two.
Lemerre coached France at the 2002 World Cup where they were knocked out in the first round in defence of their title and he was also at the finals in Germany in 2006 in charge of Tunisia.
Thirty drivers were at the June finals at a vehicle-testing center on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa's capital.
At least the Finals did find a saving grace in the last game.
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Over the year, the entries are whittled down until eight finalists remain to compete for the grand prize at the Venture Finals.
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Although this was far from an impressive display by Egypt, the result will be a big boost in their push for a place at the 2004 finals in Tunisia.
Nigeria, winners of the Nations Cup in 1980 and 1994, are drawn against debutants Benin Republic and previous tournament winners South Africa and Morocco in the first round of matches at the 2004 finals.
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At the 2012 finals, Mali's most decorated footballer -- who boasts three Spanish La Liga titles and two European Champions League medals among other trophies -- had broken down in tears as Islamists took control of the north of his country amidst fierce fighting.
In qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the North Koreans have made it through to the final qualifying stage and recently drew with their neighbor South Korea -- a side which was a World Cup semi-finalist in 2002, and unlucky not to make the second round at the 2006 finals in Germany.
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The cement mogul made the gift on Thursday after the Nigerian team reached the finals of AFCON 2013 by defeating the Malian national team 4-1 at the semi-finals on Wednesday.
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He is full of praise for the show put on by the O2, saying the way in which tennis has flourished at the arena is reminiscent of when the finals were played at New York's Madison Square Garden between 1977 and 1989.
We have to be aiming for the quarter finals at the World Cup - anything beyond that would be a bonus.
Algonquin in the nightcap of the Division 1 Central semifinals, at the hallowed Harrington Auditorium on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, to advance to next Sunday's district finals at the same venue.
Emms retired after the pair lost in the quarter-finals at the Beijing Games in August.
"I'm definitely struggling at the moment, " said the 29-year-old current world number two, who also fell in the quarter-finals at the French Open.
Srichaphan ripped 45 winners against his Russian opponent, who reached the semi-finals at the French Open and the last eight at the Australian Open.
Dementieva, who began the year with back-to-back titles in Auckland and Sydney and then reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, blamed her hectic schedule so far for her lacklustre effort.
Meanwhile, third seed Novak Djokovic, who reached the semi-finals at the Olympic Games before losing a tough three-set battle to Nadal, has admitted he is feeling the effects of flying thousands of miles.
Moya's defeat came after a hard-fought contest but Grosjean won only three games as he struggled to switch from the faster grass surface on which he reached the semi-finals at the All England Club earlier this month.
Falcons last made it into the Heineken Cup in the 2004-05 season, where having topped a pool including Perpignan, Newport-Gwent Dragons and Edinburgh, Rob Andrew's side were outclassed by finalists Stade Francais in the quarter-finals at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
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Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- It's the week before finals at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and all over campus, students are hunched over books and laptops under the shelter of immense palm trees and sprawled out on the cement benches lining the campus' long, grassy mall, the anticipation palpable.
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