Next week, we will know who our qualifying opponents will be for WC 2014. There will be plenty of forensic analysis of each opponent we get, but I'll save that for other threads. But how have we done in other groups down through recent years?
1990:
We had just qualified for Euro 88, when the draw was made for the Italian World Cup. As 4th seeds in a 5-team group, everyone else in the group bar Malta, had made the 86 WC. The fixtures meeting gave us 3 straight away games, and our first home game wasn't until April 1989. A home win against Spain and 4 other wins in the remaining games sent us through to our first WC. Then in the finals draw in Rome, we were the last team drawn, and sent into the only group with 2 other European teams. The group went down to the wire, but Ireland and Holland couldn't be separated on the field, and a "lots" draw gave us 2nd place in the group sending us to Genoa to play Romania. Our campaign finished in Rome with a creditable performance against the hosts.
1994:
The qualifying draw in New York was probably one of the most memorable in recent years. One group only had 5 teams, when Yugoslavia were banned from competition. The pots were drawn from 6th seeds to 2nd seeds, when the top seeds were pre-allocated a group. As the groups formed up, England, Poland, and Turkey were paired in the same group, all of which we had just played in the Euro qualifiers. We didn't want them again, as Franz Beckenbauer prepared to draw our pot out. To gasps from the audience, Holland got the English group, while we were the next country drawn out, put into the unprecedented 7-team, 12-game group, with Spain and Denmark.
The Spanish FA had problems complying with the all-seater stadium requirements, while the FAI reluctantly installed the temporary seats, which reduced the Lansdowne capacity by 15,000. The qualifying campaign began in May 92, at home to Albania. 4 wins in a row set us up to qualify at home to Spain, where we collapsed in half an hour. On the final night of the campaign, we went to Belfast with no fans, needing to get a result. Despite ending level on goal difference and points with Denmark, our 1-1 draw coupled with a Danish loss in Spain sent us through to the finals, on more goals scored. The European Champions joined names such as England, France, and Portugal to sit out the finals at home. In the finals, we were given another rough 3 European team group, and everyone finished level on 4 points and goal difference. Mexico finished top on goals scored, we got second from beating Italy, while Norway went home. Our tournament ended in the next round.
1998:
We were still 2nd seeds for the 98 draw, Romania took top seeds, and walked the group, qualifying directly for the finals in August after we drew 0-0 against Lithuania. Romania won every game in the group, bar the last one against us. For the first time since 1965, we were in a WC play-off. Despite starting well at home to Belgium, we were lucky to go to the second leg still level. With 20 minutes to go it was still level, but Belgium then scored from a move where the ball was out of play during it, but no throw-in was given. It was 1981 all over again, so we stayed at home the following summer.
2002:
By now we were third seeds, and handed Holland and Portugal in the qualifiers. The new policy at the fixtures meeting was going away to the bigger teams asap, and they were the first two games. A win in Estonia at the end of the away campaign, put us 6 goals ahead of Portugal on goal diffeence. Portugal later put 6 goals past Cyprus that evening. The group was decided in Portugal's favour on goal difference. We got through a month later against Iran. The draw for the finals gave us a good chance of qualifying, however, we made it hard for ourselves with the Keane saga. A vital equaliser against Germany kept the group wide open for the final set of games, where we beat Cameroon to second spot. However, we went out of the tournament having not lost any of our 16 games.
2006:
For the 2006 qualifiers, we were re-acquainted with Switzerland, and paired with France and Israel. The fixtures meeting lasted 10 hours in Dublin, and we got almost everything we wanted, including the first and last game at home. By the time we played Switzerland, one goal would have given us a play-off. We were behind for only 20 minutes in the group, but Switzerland and France got to the finals, and we got Steve Staunton for the next campaign.
2010:
A professional coach took over for the last WC campaign, and we needed Trappattoni to deal with Italy and improving Bulgaria. Italy won the group by 5 points, and we were the last of the 8 play-off qualifiers, albeit with a game to spare. A deflection and a scandal stopped us going to South Africa, but at least we were competitive on the field again. The same group format and qualification criteria will apply for the 2014 qualifiers, but hopefully, with a good draw, we can at least make the finals next time.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
Excellent summary lad. Great reading. Just a heads up, we were beaten by Iran in the second leg in Tehran 1-0!
Great, so they draw it and then we wait over a year for qualifying to begin. Also puts a damper on the current campaign as you have this hanging over your head.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
Yeah good read,but no mention of beating Holland in 2002 campaign?Originally Posted by BonnieShels
Or of a certain hypocrite throwing their toys out of the pram.
Though he was later partly vindicated. Just not in the manner he and his apologists behaved.
Did any of you go to the game in Tehran? Or know anyone that did? Was that possible?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
Know a few people who went.
They all had to take a charter from Dublin as I recall, regardless of where they were based?
Couldn't drink booze really and Liam Neeson/Eddie Jordan were both there as I've been told..
You're right of course, but we were the ones celebrating at the end of the game.
We started average in the 1990 qualifiers, losing in Spain with a decimated squad, which meant O'Leary returned. With only 8 games, winning the last 5 was a great achievement. Spain had already qualified before their last game, and were outraged that UEFA forced them to play their last game against Hungary at 3pm local time, because we had to play in Malta simultaneously and they had no lights. There was heavy fog here before the game, and many fans didn't make it out. Some of those that did, brought their luggage into the game. We only needed a point out there, but the lack of light was the biggest concern. Fortunately it was a sunny afternoon, and there was just about enough light to finish the game. Spain knocked Hungary for 4, the once legendary Hungary failed to qualify for the first time in many years, and they haven't been back in the finals since.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
Hey Ardee I thought Neeson was from Northern Ireland?
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
He is. And he supports his national team.
The only dampener on this draw is that it's now and we're still third seeds, because of when the rankings were taken. We've won 6 of our last 7 games, but it hasn't been reflected in the rankings, so we're stuck with the Belarussians and Ukrainians.
There were 32 teams in the 1990 qualifiers, now there's 53. However, the same number of teams still qualify as then, 13. It's harder to jump seeding pots now, especially as the FAI just want money-spinning friendlies rather than winning lower-profile games that can improve our ranking sooner. I don't know when the fixtures meetings have to be held, but I don't think any will be done until the current qualifiers are over.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
Kevin Moran and Roy Keane played in midfield in the away game against Spain 1990 due to injuries. Diego Maradona was at the game and although Spain won 2-0 he singled out Keane as the best player on the pitch (something everybody else seemed to miss).
Roy Keane didn't play in those qualifiers. He made his debut at home to Chile in 1991, although he was around for Seville in 92. The injury list for that Spain game in November 88 was horrendous, and the performance matched it. O'Leary returned, and we held out for 50 minutes against relentless Spanish pressure. Spain won all their home games in that group, but we restricted them to only 2 goals, whereas everyone else got hammered for 4. In the finals, we got further than Spain. Spain won their group, but lost in the next round to Yugoslavia.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
Your right. Getting my dates mixed up.
I went up from Saudi and was perched on the opposite end to about 500-800 Irish fans (I always thought there were at least 1,000). I flew up the morning of the game, met some friends I'd made at the Saudi-Iran game in Jeddah a couple of months previously, and never heard noise like it before. That night I slept at the airport and blearily heard "You'll never beat the Irish" being sung somewhere nearby, but I never met anyone. I did meet, strangely, at a cafe in the city before the match 2 lads who were living in Birmingham but who were from Roscrea and Gorey. They were with a larger group of England-based fans (20-30) who'd flown in the day before. They were sneaking drops of something from inside a local newspaper and were telling me where to go for drinks. Great trip.
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