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
2026 FIFA World Cup played in the host country(ies) and to be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup. The existing playoff window of November 2025 has been suggested as a tentative date for the 2026 edition. The FIFA Council went back and forth between 2013 and 2017 on limitations within hosting rotation based on the continental confederations. Originally, it was set that bids to be host would not be allowed from countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments. It was temporarily changed to only prohibit countries belonging to the confederation that hosted the previous World Cup from