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We're in the final hurdle of the 2018 World Cup for the nations of Europe – the first legs of the UEFA playoffs are upon us as Croatia face Greece and Northern Ireland take on Switzerland. Friday sees Italy take on Sweden, while Saturday has Denmark vs. the Republic of Ireland. Outside of Europe in the other play-offs, Honduras throw down with Australia, while New Zealand face the challenge of Peru.
When these games are done, we’ll know exactly who will be heading to Russia alongside the likes of England, Brazil, France and Germany. Often though, the playoff games are as memorable as the World Cup itself. Over the years we’ve seen classic ties, clashes between some of the world’s best players, and of course, plenty of controversies. Here are seven of the most memorable recent World Cup playoff ties.
#1 Sweden vs. Portugal, 2014 World Cup qualifiers
Mouths began to water as soon as the draw for the 2014 World Cup playoffs was made, as in the UEFA section, Sweden were drawn against Portugal – meaning a showdown between two of the greatest players in the world (as well as two of the biggest egos) in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. For a lot of observers, it was suddenly as if the rest of the players on both sides no longer existed – this was literally a two-man show, CR7 against Ibra.
The tie lived up to expectations from all angles. The first leg in Lisbon was a tight one, and an odd game in a way that saw the Portuguese give almost too much attention to Ibrahimovic, leaving his teammates open to create more chances, although Sweden couldn’t score. But it was Ronaldo who decided the tie with a stooping header in the 82nd minute, one of the only gilt-edged chances Portugal created.
The second leg four days later was far more explosive. After a goalless first half, Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal only to see Sweden take the lead with two goals in four minutes – both scored by who else but Ibrahimovic – his second goal being a thunderous free-kick to put Sweden in the driving seat. In the end though, the game belonged to Ronaldo, who scored a ridiculous two goals in two minutes to fully decide the tie, Portugal winning out 4-2 on aggregate.
Both superstars gave their all for their country, but in the end it was CR7 who had the last laugh.
#2 Australia vs. Uruguay, 2006 World Cup qualifiers
This one was a tie that became so famous in Australia – who ran out victorious and qualified for their first World Cup in over three decades – that it’s known purely by the date of the fateful second leg – November 16th. Four years earlier, the two sides had faced one another in the playoffs for the 2002 World Cup, with Uruguay winning 3-0 in the second leg to overturn a 1-0 loss in the first. To put it simply, Australia were outclassed.
Realistically – despite the Aussie side containing the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill – all Premier League stars – the same result could’ve happened again. Despite flying through the easier OFC qualifiers, Australia fired boss Frank Farina and hired veteran Guus Hiddink, just three months prior to the playoffs. Uruguay won the first leg 1-0 in Montevideo and appeared to be in the driving seat, but they hadn’t reckoned on the fighting spirit of the Aussies.
A goal from Mark Bresciano levelled the tie, and with both sides unable to break the deadlock, the game went to penalties. In front of a partisan Aussie crowd, Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill and Tony Vidmar held their nerve, while Mark Viduka’s miss was offset by misses from Dario Rodriguez and Marcelo Zalayeta. John Aloisi ended up netting the decisive penalty and Australia were headed to their first World Cup for 32 years.
#3 Algeria vs. Egypt, 2010 World Cup qualifiers
This tie became incredibly memorable not just because the two North African sides are horribly bitter rivals – the countries are only separated by Libya and their games always had a nasty atmosphere – but because the stakes were high, too – Algeria had last appeared in the World Cup in 1986, Egypt in 1990.
What’s more, most of the time the game wouldn’t have had to happen – it only had to take place because somehow, both sides finished level in their qualifying group with 13 points, and all the other tiebreaking criteria were even too. And so a playoff was needed, with the neutral venue of Sudan chosen to host the game.
It was reported that 15,000 police officers were mobilised for the match, with embassies advising their nationals to avoid the stadium at all costs, and schools and government buildings were shut down early. Scuffles between fans were reported leading up to the game and an especially nasty incident two days prior saw the Egyptian team bus stoned by Algerian fans.
In the end, Algeria won a relatively uneventful game 1-0, but off the pitch, problems continued with riots, demonstrations and flag-burning in both countries. Later on the Egyptian FA filed an official complaint to the FA, while Algeria claimed that there had been an orchestrated media campaign to damage its reputation. It was a classic example of when football almost means too much.
#4 Republic of Ireland vs. France, 2010 World Cup qualifiers
If Egypt vs. Algeria was the most heated rivalry going into the 2010 World Cup playoffs, coming out, the rivalry between France and the Republic of Ireland was practically an inferno. In perhaps the most controversial incident in UEFA World Cup qualifying, France ended up going to the tournament in South Africa after winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate. The offending incident came in the second leg, when the game was locked at 1-1 in extra-time.
France had beaten Ireland at Croke Park in the first leg 1-0, but a first-half goal from Robbie Keane in the Stade de France put the Irish back in the tie and with neither team able to score a winner, the game headed into extra time. With just minutes remaining in the first half, Florent Malouda played a free kick into the box, and Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball twice before passing to William Gallas, who tucked the ball home.
Somehow the referee failed to spot both infractions – as well as an offside in the build-up to the incident – and awarded the goal. Ireland were unable to find an equaliser – probably due to the feeling of injustice that the goal left – and France won out 2-1 winners on aggregate. Post-match, Henry admitted to handling the ball, while the referee refused any comment, although later on he admitted the mistake.
Despite appeals to FIFA from the FAI – including a request to replay the game, and a downright bizarre suggestion that they be allowed into the World Cup as a 33rd team – then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter shot them all down and Ireland were left licking their wounds while France headed to South Africa.
#5 Turkey vs. Switzerland, 2006 World Cup qualifiers
This play-off not only became heated and incredibly exciting on the pitch, it also got pretty crazy off it with one player even ending up hospitalised. In the end – after a nail-biting second leg – it was Switzerland that came out on top, heading to the World Cup in Germany via the away goals rule after the tie ended all square at 4-4.
The first leg in Berne was a business-like win for the Swiss, who scored towards the end of both halves to take a 2-0 lead with them to the second leg in the infamous Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul. And it seemed like the Swiss would walk through the second leg too when Alexander Frei netted a penalty in the second minute.
They hadn’t counted on Turkish spirit, though, and two goals from Tuncay Sanli in the first half and an early second-half penalty from Necati Ates brought the Turks back into the game. Marco Streller then scored in the 84th minute to seemingly put the tie beyond Turkey, but another goal from Tuncay – sealing his hat-trick – went in on 89 minutes to set up a nail-biting finale.
Switzerland held on to win the tie, but post-game all hell broke loose – players from both teams were seen brawling in the tunnel after Swiss midfielder Beni Huggel and Turkish defender Alpay aimed kicks at members from the opposite team. The melee ended with Swiss substitute Stephane Grichting admitted to hospital, and FIFA having to investigate the incident. It was a stark reminder of how much the World Cup means to international sides.
#6 Australia vs. Iran, 1998 World Cup qualifiers
After twenty years in the wilderness when it came to the World Cup, hopes were high for Australia’s Socceroos going into the qualifiers for the 1998 tournament in France – a new generation of players from the Premier League such as Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka bolstered the side, while they now had a proven international manager in the form of Terry Venables, who was fresh off a successful term as England manager. The Aussies comfortably won the Oceania bracket of qualifying, leaving them with just Iran to defeat in order to qualify for the tournament.
The first leg was to be played in Tehran, and controversy ensued mainly due to the attitude of the Australian team and management staff towards even going to Iran. Venables himself apparently felt that the area was dangerous, and the Socceroos went as far as bringing their own water to drink for fear of picking up illness. The game saw an insane 128,000 fans attend and cram into a stadium with a capacity of 100,000. But when Harry Kewell scored a crucial away goal and the game ended 1-1, the Aussies figured they’d done enough.
Not so. In a game that would go down in Iranian folklore as the ‘Saga of Melbourne’, Australia took a 2-0 lead before the game was disrupted by notorious fan Peter Hore, who made his way onto the field and cut up the Iranian goal net, causing a pause in play while officials dealt with the incident. It was enough to stem the tide of momentum for Australia, and suddenly Iran took the front foot upon the restart and scored two late goals. The match ended 2-2 with Iran progressing on away goals, and Australia – having not actually lost a single game in qualifying – were left heartbroken and had to wait another eight years for their World Cup chance.
#7 Ukraine vs. France, 2014 World Cup qualifiers
To see a side as good as France – featuring the likes of Franck Ribery and Paul Pogba – condemned to the play-offs in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers wasn’t as much of a shock as it could’ve been. Les Bleus were unfortunate enough to be drawn in a group alongside holders Spain, after all. What was a shock, however, was the result of the first leg of their play-off game against Ukraine, who had been a dour runner-up to England in their group.
The game was an excellent showing for Ukraine, who had gone unbeaten in ten games – a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Roman Zozulya and Andriy Yarmolenko. France were largely shut out, with Ribery and Samir Nasri being marked out of the game. The game ended in some controversy as both Laurent Koscielny and Olexandr Kucher were sent off in stoppage time – Koscielny for violent conduct – but it seemed like all the momentum was with Ukraine going into the second leg.
In a truly remarkable performance though, France showed their class and became the first European team to ever overturn a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs. The French were on the front foot from the off, dominating in both possession and shots on target, and took an early lead through Mamadou Sakho of all people before Karim Benzema added a second. Early in the second half things were made even trickier for Ukraine when Yevhen Khacheridi was sent off, and sure enough, Sakho popped up again in the 72nd minute to score the goal to send France to Brazil.
It was a memorable overhaul from France, who proved why they were one of the dark horses for the tournament, while for Ukraine the experience was painful, but not an unfamiliar one – it was the fourth World Cup playoff that they’d lost.
