2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA–AFC play-off)
The 2002 FIFA World Cup UEFA–AFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between a group runner-up of the European qualifying tournament, the Republic of Ireland, and the winners of the AFC play-off, Iran. The games were played on 10 November and 15 November 2001 in Dublin and Tehran, respectively.[1]
| Event | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| (on aggregate) | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 10 November 2001 | ||||||
| Venue | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | ||||||
| Referee | Antonio Pereira da Silva (Brazil) | ||||||
| Attendance | 36,538 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 15 November 2001 | ||||||
| Venue | Azadi Stadium, Tehran | ||||||
| Referee | William Mattus Vega (Costa Rica) | ||||||
| Attendance | 100,000 | ||||||
Ireland beat Iran 2–0 in the first leg held in Dublin, while in the second leg, Iran defeated Ireland 1–0 in Tehran. The Irish side won the series 2–1 on aggregate, therefore qualifying to the World Cup.
Venues
.jpg.webp)
Background
| Republic of Ireland | Round | Iran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Final standings |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AFC play-off | Opponent | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st leg |  United Arab Emirates (H) |
1–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd leg | United Arab Emirates (A) |
3–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Match details
First leg
         Rep. Ireland
|
Iran
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
OFFICIALS
|
MATCH RULES
|
Second leg
Iran  | 1–0 |  Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
Golmohammadi  90' |
(Report) |
|
Iran
|
Rep. Ireland
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
OFFICIALS
|
MATCH RULES
|
Aftermath
Ireland qualified to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and were drawn into Group E with Germany, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia. Ireland drew with Cameroon and Germany with the same score 1–1 and in the final match they won 3–0 against Saudi Arabia. They qualified to the Round of 16 but were eliminated by Spain on penalties (2–3) after finishing 1–1.
Iran failed to qualify after an aggregate defeat to the Republic of Ireland, losing 2–0 in Dublin and winning 1–0 in Tehran. The elimination saw manager Miroslav Blažević step down from the top spot to be replaced by his assistant Branko Ivanković, who stepped up from assistant coach.
References
- "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan - Qualifiers". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2017.