| 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA–AFC play-off) | |
| Event: | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Team1: | Republic of Ireland |
| Team1association: |  |
| Team1score: | 2 |
| Team2: | Iran |
| Team2association: |  |
| Team2score: | 1 |
| Details: | (on aggregate) |
| Firstleg: | First leg |
| Team1score1: | 2 |
| Team2score1: | 0 |
| Date1: | 10 November 2001 |
| Stadium1: | Lansdowne Road |
| City1: | Dublin |
| Referee1: | Antonio Pereira da Silva (Brazil) |
| Attendance1: | 36,538 |
| Secondleg: | Second leg |
| Team1score2: | 0 |
| Team2score2: | 1 |
| Date2: | 15 November 2001 |
| Stadium2: | Azadi Stadium |
| City2: | Tehran |
| Referee2: | William Mattus Vega (Costa Rica) |
| Attendance2: | 100,000 |
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]
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.
| Republic of Ireland | Round | Iran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Final standings |
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| AFC play-off | Opponent | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st leg | (H) | 1–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd leg | (A) | 3–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GK | 1 | Shay Given | ||
| CB | 6 | Roy Keane (c) | ||
| CB | 4 | Gary Breen | ||
| CB | 5 | |||
| RWB | 2 | |||
| LWB | 3 | Ian Harte | ||
| CM | 7 | |||
| CM | 8 | Matt Holland | ||
| CM | 11 | Kevin Kilbane | ||
| CF | 9 | Niall Quinn | ||
| CF | 10 | Robbie Keane | ||
| Substitutions: | ||||
| GK | 16 | Dean Kiely | ||
| DF | 12 | |||
| DF | 13 | |||
| 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 | |||
| CB | 15 | |||
| 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 | |||
| CF | 10 | Ali Daei (c) | ||
| Substitutions: | ||||
| MF | 9 | Sirous Dinmohammadi | ||
| MF | 13 | Javad Nekounam | ||
| FW | 14 | |||
| FW | 18 | Ali Samereh | ||
| DF | 20 | Behrouz Rahbarifar | ||
| FW | 21 | Faraz Fatemi | ||
| GK | 22 | Davoud Fanaei | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Miroslav Blažević | ||||
| width=50% valign=top | Assistant referees: Jorge Oliveira (Brazil) Aristeu Tavares (Brazil) Fourth official: Paulo César de Oliveira (Brazil) | width=50% valign=top | Match rules
|
| GK | 12 | Ebrahim Mirzapour | ||
| RB | 5 | Afshin Peyrovani | ||
| CB | 15 | Yahya Golmohammadi | ||
| CB | 24 | Rahman Rezaei | ||
| LB | 3 | Mehrdad Minavand | ||
| CM | 6 | |||
| CM | 7 | Hamed Kavianpour | ||
| RW | 2 | |||
| 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 | |||
| CM | 8 | Matt Holland | ||
| CM | 11 | |||
| CF | 9 | David Connolly | ||
| CF | 10 | |||
| Substitutions: | ||||
| GK | 16 | Alan Kelly Jr. | ||
| DF | 12 | |||
| DF | 13 | Kenny Cunningham | ||
| FW | 17 | Niall Quinn | ||
| MF | 14 | Lee Carsley | ||
| FW | 18 | |||
| DF | 15 | Andy O'Brien | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Mick McCarthy | ||||
| width=50% valign=top | Assistant referees: Erick Mora (Costa Rica) Efraín Rodríguez (Costa Rica) Fourth official: Olger Mejías Ovares (Costa Rica) | width=50% valign=top | Match rules:
|
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.