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.

Background

Matches

First leg

Second leg

Aftermath

Ireland qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Korea and Japan, 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 so they qualified to the Round of 16 but they were eliminated by Spain on penalties after finishing 1-1.
Iran failed to qualify for World Cup 2002 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.