FRA 1-1 IRE (aet, 2-1 agg.)
The Republic of Ireland were knocked out of this World Cup play-off in controversial fasion on Wednesday night despite a strong performance. The Irish needed a victory to have any hope of boarding the plane to South Africa, and got a crucial goal through Robbie Keane (33′), before blowing a host of good opportunities to kill the French off, whilst performing brilliantly at the back to deny the opposition. The 1-0 win for Ireland was enough to force extra-time (aggregate score), though, and it was here that the luck of the Irish ran out, as a free-kick found its way to France captain Thierry Henry, who clearly controlled the ball with his arm and hand before crossing to Gallas, who scored the tap-in, a goal that delighted the home fans in the Stade de France, but no-one can be pleased with the manner in which it was scored. To rub salt into the wounds, Irish appeals for the match to be replayed are set to be turned down.
Rest of Europe
The other 3 ties before it proved to be less dramatic, with Portugal seeing off Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 (2-0 agg.), and Greece winning in Ukraine (1-0 on agg. to Greece). The shock of the night, though, came at the Stadion Ljudski vrt, where Slovenia toppled the Russians (1-0), with the late away goal in Moscow on Saturday proving to be the deciding factor (2-2, Slovenia win on away goals).
Africa
In the African zone, Egypt’s late goal on Saturday against Algeria sent the two sides into a play-off on Wednesday in neutral territory (Sudan). On the night, the Algerians performed better than their opponents, and _’s goal (40′) sent them to the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1986.
North America/South America Play-Off
In the CONCACAF/CONNMEBOL play-off, Uruguay sealed the last qualification spot after a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Walter Centeno’s goal (74′) made sure that Sebastian Abreu’s strike (70′) did not help the Uruguayans win on the night, but a 1-0 victory in the first leg means that the two-time world champions will be on the plane to South Africa.
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