The Story of Ireland’s Legendary 2002 World Cup Campaign

Ireland doesn’t appear at the World Cup too often, but when they do, they make it count, making it out of the group stage on all three occasions. Their most recent appearance came in the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea and it went down in football folklore, with stories still surfacing in books and podcasts to this day. 

The Irish had a golden generation at the time, though they were viewed as 100-1 outsiders in the World Cup betting odds for the trophy. As is usually the case with the Boys in Green, high drama would follow both on and off the pitch, including a training camp bust-up that would make worldwide headlines and even inspire a feature film starring Steve Coogan. 

With Ireland hoping to seal their place at the 2026 World Cup through the European play-offs happening this spring, we’ve taken a look back at one of the most eventful appearances at a tournament finals we’ve ever seen. 

How did Ireland Qualify for the 2002 World Cup?

Ranked in 39th place at the time of the qualifying draw, Ireland were handed an incredibly tough group, which included Portugal (7th) and the Netherlands (8th), both of whom had reached the semi-finals of Euro 2000.

Ireland would need to finish in the top two places if they were to advance any further. They made a good start, picking up valuable draws in Amsterdam and Lisbon. Some more key results would follow before a Jason McAteer goal sealed a crucial victory over the Dutch in Dublin, which ultimately saw them pinch a play-off spot by finishing second.

From there, Ireland were randomly drawn from the nine runners-up into the inter-continental play-offs, where they had to negotiate a two-legged tie with Iran. Now ranked 20th in the world, the Irish were favourites to see off the 35th-ranked Iranians and made the perfect start with a 2-0 victory in Dublin. A nervy night in Tehran would follow, but a narrow 1-0 defeat there was enough to seal a third appearance at the World Cup finals.

The Story of the Infamous Saipan Incident 

Arguably, the most memorable moment from Ireland’s appearance at the 2002 World Cup happened before a ball was even kicked, courtesy of a monumental row between manager Mick McCarthy and national team captain Roy Keane. 

The captain of Manchester United, Keane was one of the most famous and influential players on the planet at the time and he played a key role in Ireland getting to the tournament, with two key performances against the Netherlands in particular. Known for his strict discipline, he very much set the standard for his national teammates to follow. 

In the build-up to the finals, McCarthy and the Football Association of Ireland organised a team getaway to the small island resort of Saipan to acclimatise the team before a more serious training camp afterwards. 

Keane had a chequered history with the national side and he’d often criticised the professionalism of the set-up over the years, so he was less than impressed to arrive at a resort that had a bone-dry pitch full of potholes and no footballs to train with. 

With frustrations close to boiling over, Keane made a series of scathing comments about both the FAI and McCarthy to two Irish journalists while the rest of the squad were out playing golf, which quickly made front-page headlines back home. 

When questioned about the article by his manager during a team meeting, Keane launched into a foul-mouthed rant at McCarthy in front of the squad, leading to him being sent home before the tournament started. This made headlines around the world and divided a nation, as football fans were split over whether McCarthy had made the right decision. 

McCarthy ultimately stuck by his guns, meaning that Keane missed out on the chance to play at the 2002 World Cup and instead spent his summer walking the dog at home. The story remains a legend to this day, with a feature film titled Saipan, starring Steve Coogan, set for release in January 2026.

Who Did Ireland Play in the Group Stage of the 2002 World Cup?

Ireland’s excellent run of form in the build-up meant that they were ranked 15th in the world coming into the finals and even though they were without Roy Keane, they were considered to be a potential dark horse to make a go of it. 

Mick McCarthy’s men were drawn in a group with Germany (11), Cameroon (17) and Saudi Arabia (34), meaning that they were certainly entitled to reach the knockout stage based on world rankings alone. 

Keane was absent, but Ireland could still boast a strong squad which included a host of Premiership stalwarts, including Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Steve Finnan, Ian Harte, Matt Holland and Jason McAteer. 

Back-to-back draws against Cameroon and Germany meant that everything was to play for heading into the final game, against a Saudi side that had suffered an embarrassing 8-0 defeat to Germany in the opening game. 

Goals from Gary Breen, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff put them in control and ensured that Ireland maintained their record of qualifying from their group at every finals appearance to date.

Ireland vs Spain in the Last 16 of the 2002 World Cup 

Buoyed by their unbeaten group campaign, Ireland certainly fancied their chances of having a sustained run in the tournament, though they had to face a Spain side that won their group at a canter and were ranked eighth in the world rankings. 

The Spanish were in control after Fernando Morientes put them in front in the first half, but the Irish staged an impressive fightback after the interval, with Ian Harte missing a penalty on the hour mark. Time was running out, but the underdogs were given another chance from the spot, which Robbie Keane dispatched in the final minute. 

Ireland controlled the game for large periods in extra-time but couldn’t find a breakthrough, meaning the game went to a penalty shootout. Matt Holland, David Connolly and Kevin Kilbane all were unable to score, sending Spain through by the finest of margins and leaving the Irish to wonder about what might have been. 

The Legacy of Ireland’s 2002 World Cup Run

Aside from the obvious pride at going out with a fight, there were mixed feelings back home about Ireland’s 2002 World Cup campaign.

There was no shame about losing on penalties to a Spain side that was considered to have an outside chance of lifting the trophy, though plenty questioned whether the presence of Roy Keane would have been enough to get them over the line.

The counterargument to that claim was that without Keane, Ireland were able to play more freely and McCarthy was able to impose his tactics without a challenge, though no one doubts that should they have defeated Spain, the Irish would have fancied their chances in a quarter-final against hosts South Korea. 

Waiting in the semi-finals would have been a Germany side that Ireland gamely held to a draw in the group stages, adding some fuel to the comments from Keane pre-tournament that the Irish had the ability to go very deep.

We’ll never know what would have happened if Ian Harte had scored that penalty on the hour mark against Spain, but the debate has raged on for two decades since.