1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)

The 1998 FIFA World Cup AFC–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the losing team in the AFC play-off from the Asian qualifying tournament, Iran. The games were played on 22 and 29 November 1997 in Tehran and Melbourne respectively. Australia was hoping to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974 and Iran in 1978.

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
(AFC–OFC play-off)
Event1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
Iran Australia
3 3
3–3 on aggregate, Iran won on away goals
First leg
Iran Australia
1 1
Date22 November 1997
VenueAzadi Stadium, Tehran
RefereePierluigi Pairetto (Italy)
Attendance128,000[1]
Second leg
Australia Iran
2 2
Date29 November 1997
VenueMelbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
RefereeSándor Puhl (Hungary)
Attendance85,022

Background
Iran Round Australia
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Saudi Arabia 842286214
 Iran 8332138512
 China PR 83231114−311
 Qatar 8314710−310
 Kuwait 822478−18
 Final standings
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia 44002622412
 Solomon Islands 4112721−144
 Tahiti 4013212−101
Opponent Result Final round Opponent Result
 Japan (N) 2–3 (a.e.t.) 1st leg  New Zealand (A) 3–0
2nd leg  New Zealand (H) 2–0

Play-off match

First leg

Prior to arrival in Tehran, Terry Venables and others involved in the Australian national team had made negative comments about Iran, stating it as being dangerous, and going so far as to bring their own drinking water for their stay.

The first leg of the play-off, on 22 November 1997, took place in Tehran, Iran, with the result a 1–1 draw. Attendance for this match was extremely high, as 128,000 fans packed Azadi Stadium, despite it only having a capacity for 100,000 fans at the time.[1]

Iran 1–1 Australia
Azizi  39' Report Kewell  19'
Attendance: 128,000[1]
GK1Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh (c)
4Mohammad Khakpour 40'
16Reza Shahroudi
5Afshin Peyrovani
11Khodadad Azizi
7Ali Reza Mansourian 65'
10Ali Daei
2Mehdi Mahdavikia
9Hamid Estili
20Mehdi Pashazadeh 75'
23Naeim Saadavi
Substitutions:
GK22Nima Nakisa
15Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi
8Majid Namjoo-Motlagh
25Mehrdad Minavand
24Javad Zarincheh
19Farhad Majidi 75'
18Ebrahim Tahami 65'
Manager:
Valdeir Vieira
GK1Mark Bosnich
2Craig Moore
3Tony Vidmar
4Steve Horvat
5Alex Tobin (c) 50'
6Ned Zelić
7Robbie Slater 58'
8Craig Foster
9Mark Viduka
10Aurelio Vidmar 20' 58'
11Harry Kewell 40' 88'
Substitutions:
GK22Željko Kalac
12Milan Ivanović
13Stan Lazaridis 58'
14Ernie Tapai 85' 58'
15Josip Skoko
16Graham Arnold 88'
17John Aloisi
Manager:
Terry Venables

OFFICIALS

MATCH RULES

Second leg

The second leg, held on 29 November at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, had a crowd of 85,022.

With Australia holding a 1–0 lead at half-time and scoring a second goal just after the break, it looked likely that they would progress to the World Cup. Immediately following Australia's second goal, spectator Peter Hore, known for disrupting major events, ran onto the field and cut up Iran's goal net, causing a halt in play.[2][3] However, Australia's dominance continued until a controversial booking of Harry Kewell following a collision with Iranian goalkeeper Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh in the 72nd minute. This seemed to quell the Australians' momentum, as an Iranian revival, led by Khodadad Azizi, saw Iran score two quick goals to make the score 3–3 on aggregate, with Iran progressing on away goals.

Despite being undefeated throughout their entire qualifying campaign, Australia had again failed to qualify for the World Cup finals. Along with host nation and eventual winner France (who as host nation did not need to qualify), and Saint Kitts and Nevis, Australia were one of three teams to not lose a game in the entire campaign. The broadcast of the game on SBS featured closing comments from a clearly distraught Les Murray and Johnny Warren, with Warren openly weeping on air.

Australia 2–2 Iran
Kewell  32'
Vidmar  48'		 Report Bagheri  75'
Azizi  79'
Attendance: 85,022

AUSTRALIA:
GK1Mark Bosnich
2Craig Moore 78'
3Stan Lazaridis
4Steve Horvat
5Alex Tobin (c)
6Ned Zelić
7Robbie Slater 76'
8Craig Foster
9Mark Viduka
10Aurelio Vidmar 76'
11Harry Kewell 72'
Substitutions:
GK22Zeljko Kalac
12Milan Ivanović
19Tony Vidmar 76'
14Ernie Tapai 76'
15Josip Skoko
16Graham Arnold 78'
17John Aloisi
Manager:
Terry Venables

IRAN:
GK1Ahmadreza Abedzadeh (c)
4Mohammad Khakpour 29'
16Reza Shahroudi 52'
5Afshin Peyrovani
11Khodadad Azizi
6Karim Bagheri 75'
10Ali Daei
2Mehdi Mahdavikia 61'
9Hamid Reza Estili
20Mehdi Pashazadeh
23Naeem Saadavi 70'
Substitutions:
GK22Nima Nakisa
15Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi 84'
8Majid Namjoo-Motlagh
25Mehrdad Minavand
24Javad Zarincheh
7Ali Reza Mansourian 52'
18Ebrahim Tahami 70'  84'  84'
Manager:
Valdeir Vieira

OFFICIALS

MATCH RULES

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level:
  • 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted

Broadcasting rights

Americas
  • Latin America: Setanta Sports (First leg only) and PSN (Second leg only)
  • Brazil: NexTV! (only first leg are broadcast live) and Rede Record (only second leg are broadcast live); PSN 2 Brasil (Only first leg are broadcast live) and SporTV 2 (Only second leg are broadcast live)
  • Canada:
  • Puerto Rico:
  • United States:

References
  1. Classic Football Matches Qualifiers – FIFA.com
  2. Davidson, John (22 March 2017). "Socceroos' Tehran return revives memories of Iran heartbreak". SBS.
  3. "No Tehran bedlam for Socceroos 20 years on". ABC News. 22 March 2017.
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