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 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 Cameroon and Germany with the same score 1–1 and in the final match they won
2002 FIFA World Cup the second being the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The general secretary of South Korea's bidding committee, Song Young-shik, stated that FIFA was interested in staging some matches in North Korea in order to aid Korean reunification, but it was ruled out. At the time the decision was made, Japan had never qualified for a World Cup finals (although the Japanese did subsequently qualify for the 1998 competition). The only other countries to have been awarded a World Cup without previously having competed in a final tournament are Italy in 1934