The UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs had their second legs on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. One of the match-ups was the Republic of Ireland v France that was 0-1 after the first leg. The Irish were the clear underdog with a 0-1 deficit after the first leg and having to travel to France for the second leg. Who was able to win and advance to South Africa next summer? Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.
France beats Republic of Ireland 1-1 (2-1 on aggregate) – Video Highlights
France were the favorites heading into the match but the Republic of Ireland headed into the match with confidence. The Irish would grab the lead in the 33rd minute as Damien Duff got wide inside the box and pulled it back for Robbie Keane. He was wide open in front of goal and scored on a shot to the far right corner to make it 1-0. France would get chances but was unable to find the equalizer in the first half. It was 1-0 after 45 minutes.
The second half saw both teams get chances and France needing a goal to ensure qualification (was 1-1 on aggregate at this time). ROI had some great chances they couldn’t convert early in the second half including a breakaway for Duff and a chance for Keane in the 74th minute. It was a great match for Ireland who continued to put pressure on the France defense and was able to defend when needed.
It remained 1-1 with about 15 minutes left in the second half. If either side was able to score, it would likely be enough to advance to South Africa next summer. Neither team would score after 90 minutes and it would head into extra time.
The first session of extra time was very controversial as France would score to make it 1-1 (2-1 on aggregate). The goal came from a free kick sent in the box, handled by Thierry Henry to Gallas who put it in the back of the net. It was a clear handball from Henry but wasn’t called. It was a very unlucky break for ROI who played a great match and were the better team for most of the match. The goal came in the 103rd minute.
The second session of extra time was Ireland’s last chance as they frantically attacked. They were unable to get any great chances as France would hold on for the victory. The match will surely spark debate about whether there should be video replay and review in matches. It was clearly a missed handball on the goal that gave France the 2-1 win on aggregate.
Even with the missed handball, Ireland had two great chances to score and they failed to convert either. Even if the handball isn’t called and the match went to penalties, there’s no guarantee who would win but its disappointing that a match of this magnitude had to be decided on a referee’s mistake.
FRA
- 1 Hugo LLORIS (GK)
- 2 Bakari SAGNA
- 4 Julien ESCUDE
(-9′ ) - 5 William GALLAS
- 6 Lassana DIARRA
- 8 Yoann GOURCUFF (-88′ )
- 9 Nicolas ANELKA
- 11 Andre-Pierre GIGNAC (-57′ )
- 12 Thierry HENRY (C)
- 13 Patrice EVRA
- 18 Alou DIARRA
- (GK) Shay GIVEN 1
- Sean ST LEDGER 2
Kevin KILBANE 3- (-67′)
John O SHEA 4 - Richard DUNNE 5
- (-63′) Glenn WHELAN 6
- (-107′) Liam LAWRENCE 7
- Keith ANDREWS 8
- Kevin DOYLE 9
- (C) Robbie KEANE 10
- Damien DUFF 11
- 3 Loic REMY
- 7 Mowssa SISSOKO
- 10 Karim BENZEMA
- 14 Sidney GOVOU
(+57′) - 15 Florent MALOUDA (+88′)
- 16 Steve MANDANDA
- 17 Sebastien SQUILLACI (+9′)
- (+107′)
Aidan McGEADY 12 - (+67′) Paul McSHANE 13
- Stephen KELLY 14
- (+63′) Darron GIBSON 15
- Joe MURPHY 16
- Stephen HUNT 17
- Leon BEST 18
- Referee: Martin HANSSON (SWE)
- Assistant Referee 1: Stefan WITTBERG (SWE)
- Assistant Referee 2: Fredrik NILSSON (SWE)
- Fourth official: Martin INGVARSSON (SWE)
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FREAKING TERRIBLE TO LOSE THIS WAY