2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA–AFC play-off)
# 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.

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.

## Background

| Republic of Ireland | Republic of Ireland | Round | Iran | Iran |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Portugal 107303372624  Republic of Ireland 107302351824  Netherlands 106223092120  Estonia 102261026-168  Cyprus 102261331-188  Andorra 100010536-310 | Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Portugal 107303372624  Republic of Ireland 107302351824  Netherlands 106223092120  Estonia 102261026-168  Cyprus 102261331-188  Andorra 100010536-310 | Final standings | Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Saudi Arabia 8521178917  Iran 8431107315  Bahrain 824289−110  Iraq 8215910−17  Thailand 8044515−104 | Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Saudi Arabia 8521178917  Iran 8431107315  Bahrain 824289−110  Iraq 8215910−17  Thailand 8044515−104 |
| | | AFC play-off | Opponent | Result |
| | | 1st leg | United Arab Emirates (H) | 1–0 |
| | | 2nd leg | United Arab Emirates (A) | 3–0 |

## Match details

### First leg

| GK | 1 | Shay Given |
| - | - | - |
| CB | 6 | Roy Keane (c) |
| CB | 4 | Gary Breen |
| CB | 5 | Steve Staunton | | 75' |
| RWB | 2 | Steve Finnan | 85' |
| LWB | 3 | Ian Harte |
| CM | 7 | Jason McAteer | | 83' |
| CM | 8 | Matt Holland |
| CM | 11 | Kevin Kilbane |
| CF | 9 | Niall Quinn |
| CF | 10 | Robbie Keane |
| Substitutions: ||
| GK | 16 | Dean Kiely |
| DF | 12 | Gary Kelly | | 83' |
| DF | 13 | Kenny Cunningham | | 75' |
| MF | 15 | Mark Kinsella |
| MF | 17 | Lee Carsley |
| FW | 18 | Clinton Morrison |
| FW | 14 | David Connolly |
| Manager: ||
| Mick McCarthy ||
| GK | 12 | Ebrahim Mirzapour |
| RB | 5 | Afshin Peyrovani | 19' |
| CB | 15 | Yahya Golmohammadi | 86' |
| CB | 24 | Rahman Rezaei |
| LB | 3 | Mehrdad Minavand |
| CM | 6 | Karim Bagheri |
| CM | 7 | Hamed Kavianpour |
| RW | 2 | Mehdi Mahdavikia |
| AM | 8 | Ali Karimi |
| LW | 11 | Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht | | 46' |
| CF | 10 | Ali Daei (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 9 | Sirous Dinmohammadi |
| MF | 13 | Javad Nekounam |
| FW | 14 | Mojahed Khaziravi | | 46' |
| FW | 18 | Ali Samereh |
| DF | 20 | Behrouz Rahbarifar |
| FW | 21 | Faraz Fatemi |
| GK | 22 | Davoud Fanaei |
| Manager: ||
| Miroslav Blažević ||
| Assistant referees: Jorge Oliveira (Brazil) Aristeu Tavares (Brazil) Fourth official: Paulo César de Oliveira (Brazil) | Match rules 90 minutes 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted |

### Second leg

| GK | 12 | Ebrahim Mirzapour |
| - | - | - |
| RB | 5 | Afshin Peyrovani |
| CB | 15 | Yahya Golmohammadi |
| CB | 24 | Rahman Rezaei |
| LB | 3 | Mehrdad Minavand |
| CM | 6 | Karim Bagheri | 85' |
| CM | 7 | Hamed Kavianpour |
| RW | 2 | Mehdi Mahdavikia | 47' |
| AM | 8 | Ali Karimi |
| LW | 11 | Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht |
| CF | 10 | Ali Daei (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 9 | Sirous Dinmohammadi |
| DF | 13 | Javad Nekounam |
| MF | 14 | Mojahed Khaziravi |
| MF | 17 | Pejman Jamshidi |
| MF | 18 | Ali Samereh |
| FW | 20 | Behrouz Rahbarifar |
| GK | 22 | Davoud Fanaei |
| Manager: ||
| Miroslav Blažević ||
| GK | 1 | Shay Given |
| CB | 6 | Mark Kinsella |
| CB | 4 | Gary Breen |
| CB | 5 | Steve Staunton (c) |
| RWB | 2 | Steve Finnan |
| LWB | 3 | Ian Harte |
| CM | 7 | Jason McAteer | 84' |
| CM | 8 | Matt Holland |
| CM | 11 | Kevin Kilbane | | 85' |
| CF | 9 | David Connolly |
| CF | 10 | Robbie Keane | 49' | 75' |
| Substitutions: ||
| GK | 16 | Alan Kelly Jr. |
| DF | 12 | Gary Kelly | | 85' |
| DF | 13 | Kenny Cunningham |
| FW | 17 | Niall Quinn |
| MF | 14 | Lee Carsley |
| FW | 18 | Clinton Morrison | | 75' |
| DF | 15 | Andy O'Brien |
| Manager: ||
| Mick McCarthy ||
| Assistant referees: Erick Mora (Costa Rica) Efraín Rodríguez (Costa Rica) Fourth official: Olger Mejías Ovares (Costa Rica) | Match rules: 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level: 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted |

## Aftermath

The elimination saw Iran manager Miroslav Blažević step down to be replaced by his assistant, Branko Ivanković.

The Republic of Ireland qualified to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and were drawn into Group E with Germany, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia. They drew with Cameroon and Germany with a score of 1–1 and in the final match, they won 3–0 against Saudi Arabia. This qualified them to the Round of 16 but they were eliminated by Spain on penalties (2–3) after the match ended in a 1–1 draw.

