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

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification Iran Iran 30px 3 Australia Australia 30px 3 3–3 on aggregate, Iran won on away goals First leg 1 1 22 November 1997 Azadi Stadium Tehran Harry Kewell Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) 128,000Classic Football Matches Qualifiers – FIFA.com Second leg 2 2 29 November 1997 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Khodadad Azizi Sándor Puhl (Hungary) 85,022 1994 2002 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. Background IranRoundAustraliaTeam Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsSaudi Arabia842286214Iran8332138512China83231114−311Qatar8314710−310Kuwait822478−18Final standingsTeam Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts PointsAustralia44002622412Solomon Islands4112721−144Tahiti4013212−101OpponentResultFinal roundOpponentResultJapan 1870 (N)2–3 (a.e.t.)1st legNew Zealand (A)3–02nd legNew 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.March 2016 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. 22 November 1997 First leg 21:10 (IRST) Iran 1–1 September 2025 AUS Azizi 39 Kewell 19 Azadi Stadium Tehran 128,000 Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) _iran97h ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff Iran _aus97h _aus97h _aus97h _aus97h FFDF00 FFDF00 FFDF00 000000 Australia GK 1 Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh (c)DF2 Mehdi MahdavikiaDF 4 Mohammad Khakpour 40DF 16Reza ShahroudiDF 5 Afshin Peyrovani MF7 Ali Reza Mansourian 65 MF9 Hamid Estili FW20Mehdi Pashazadeh 75 FW23Naeim Saadavi FW11Khodadad Azizi FW10Ali DaeiSubstitutions:GK 22Nima Nakisa DF15Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi MF8 Majid Namjoo-Motlagh MF25Mehrdad Minavand DF24Javad Zarincheh FW19Farhad Majidi 75 MF18Ebrahim Tahami 65Manager:Brazil Valdeir Vieira GK 1 Mark BosnichDF 4 Steve Horvat DF2 Craig Moore DF5 Alex Tobin (c) 50 MF7 Robbie Slater 58 MF6 Ned Zelic MF8 Craig Foster MF10Aurelio Vidmar 20 58 MF3 Tony Vidmar FW9 Mark Viduka FW 11Harry Kewell 40 88Substitutions:GK 22Željko Kalac 12Milan Ivanović 13Stan Lazaridis 58 14Ernie Tapai 85 58 15Josip Skoko 16Graham Arnold 88 17John AloisiManager:England Terry Venables OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Salvatore Marano (Italy) Pietro Contente (Italy) Fourth official: Stefano Braschi (Italy)MATCH RULES 90 minutes 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted 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.Davidson John Socceroos' Tehran return revives memories of Iran heartbreak http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2017/03/22/socceroos-tehran-return-revives-memories-iran-heartbreak SBS 22 March 2017No Tehran bedlam for Socceroos 20 years on http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-22/no-tehran-bedlam-for-socceroos-20-years-on/8377468 ABC News 22 March 2017 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. In 2000, coach Terry Venables said the game was "one of the saddest sporting moments of my life."The Mourning After documentary, SBS, 2000 29 November 1997 Second leg 20:15 (AEDT) Australia 2–2 Report Iran Kewell 32A. Vidmar 48 Bagheri 76Azizi 80 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 85,022 Sándor Puhl (Hungary) _aus97h _aus97h _aus97h _aus97h FFDF00 FFDF00 FFDF00 000000 Australia _iran97h ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff ffffff Iran GK1Mark BosnichDF 4Steve Horvat DF2Craig Moore 84 DF5Alex Tobin (c) DF3Stan Lazaridis MF7Robbie Slater 82 MF6Ned Zelic MF8Craig Foster MF10Aurelio Vidmar 82FW 11Harry Kewell 72FW 9Mark VidukaSubstitutions:GK22Zeljko Kalac 12Milan Ivanović 19Tony Vidmar 82 14Ernie Tapai 82 15Josip Skoko 16Graham Arnold 84 17John AloisiManager:England Terry Venables GK1Ahmadreza Abedzadeh (c)DF 4Mohammad Khakpour 29DF 5Afshin PeyrovaniDF20Mehdi PashazadehMF 23Naeem Saadavi 76 MF2Mehdi Mahdavikia 61 MF6Karim Bagheri 75 MF 16Reza Shahroudi 58MF 9Hamid Reza Estili FW11Khodadad Azizi FW10Ali DaeiSubstitutions:GK22Nima Nakisa 15Ali Akbar Ostad-Asadi 90 8Majid Namjoo-Motlagh 25Mehrdad Minavand 24Javad Zarincheh 7Ali Reza Mansourian 58 18Ebrahim Tahami 76 90 88Manager:Brazil Valdeir Vieira OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Imre Bozoky (Hungary) Belo Mezo (Hungary) Fourth official: Attila Hanacsek (Hungary)MATCH RULES 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level: 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted References External links 10th Anniversary of Melbourne Showdown, IranSportsPress.com First leg Second leg Play 4 1997 1997 1998 Play Category:1997–98 in Australian men's soccer Category:1990s in Tehran Category:1990s in sport in Melbourne Category:November 1997 sports events in Australia Category:November 1997 sports events in Asia 1998 Category:International association football competitions hosted by Iran Category:Australia–Iran relations Category:Men's international association football matches in Asia Category:Men's soccer matches in Melbourne Category:Football matches in Iran Category:Football in Tehran Category:Men's soccer matches in Australia Category:Men's international association football matches in Oceania