Gonzalo Higuain scored a stunning goal as Argentina won 1-0 in Germany and Netherlands beat United States 2-1 in Amsterdam. Uruguay were 3-1 winners in Switzerland but world champions Italy could only draw 0-0 with Cameroon in Monaco.
The Dutch needed a Dirk Kuyt penalty and a deflected shot from Klaas Jan Huntelaar to ease past the Americans while in-form Diego Forlan set Uruguay on their way to a 3-1 comeback win in Switzerland.
Other sides warming up for the World Cup with victories were Slovenia, who thumped Qatar 4-1, and Portugal who defeated China 2-0 in Coimbra.
Nigeria eased past Democratic Republic of Congo 5-2 while World Cup hosts South Africa fielded a weakened team at home to Namibia and needed a goal from Katlego Mphela to grab an unconvincing 1-1 draw.
Midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic shone for Serbia in their emphatic 3-0 victory in Algeria, Ghana lost 2-1 in Bosnia and Ivory Coast slumped to a 2-0 defeat in London against South Korea.
Kuwait, Jordan qualify
Kuwait and Jordan completed the line-up for the 2011 Asian Cup by coming through hard-fought final qualifying matches on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, World Cup-bound Australia proved too much for bottom-placed Indonesia in muggy Brisbane, defender Mark Milligan scoring his first international goal in the 1-0 win.
Kuwait joined pool winners Australia in qualifying from Group B after they eked out a 0-0 draw away to Oman in Muscat.
In other matches Syria trounced Lebanon 4-0 at home to leapfrog already-qualified China to win Group D, with the United Arab Emirates beating Uzbekistan 1-0 to win Group C in a battle of two Qatar-bound teams.