Tottenham will not lose Victor Wanyama to the African Cup of Nations in January after Kenya failed to qualify for the tournament.
Kenya were held to a 1-1 draw in Zambia on Sunday, with Wanyama -- who has started Spurs' first three matches of the season -- assisting Ayub Timbe's 63rd-minute goal.
But Rainford Kalaba equalised six minutes from time, leaving Kenya bottom of Group E.
Next year's tournament in Gabon runs from Jan. 14 to Feb. 5, meaning Wanyama could have missed over a month of the season had the Harambee Stars qualified.
Great away match,thank you fans for all the support during the campaign,we will take positives to our next assignments #AFCON2017
- Victor Wanyama (@VictorWanyama) September 4, 2016
Elsewhere, Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen found some form with the winner as Denmark opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 victory over Armenia, although the playmaker missed a second-half penalty.
Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Eric Dier and Harry Kane all started as Sam Allardyce's reign as England boss began with a 1-0 victory in Slovkia in which Dele Alli was a second-half substitute.
Last week, Son Heung-Min starred as South Korea beat China 3-2 in World Cup qualifying, but the forward is missing Tuesday's qualifier against Syria to focus on Tottenham.
However, Ben Davies, Kevin Wimmer, Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko are all expected to feature in competitive internationals before Spurs' visit to Stoke on Sep. 10.