Wikipedia

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9

The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 9 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Albania, England, Finland, Germany and Greece.

The group was won by England, who qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up, Germany — who would later reach the final of the tournament proper — entered the UEFA Qualification Playoffs.

England started the qualification process badly, a home defeat to Germany and an away draw with Finland (soon after a poor team performance at the 2000 European Championships) saw the resignation of their manager Kevin Keegan, and the appointment of Sven-Göran Eriksson – the first non-Englishman to be given the job – in his place. With the new manager, they picked themselves up and won five in a row, while the Germans themselves unexpectedly faltered: also drawing with Finland away from home, they also lost their home match with England by a resounding 5–1. Finland, in fact, might have been in with a chance of qualification themselves, but they lost a match to the unfancied Greece, whom England had to play in their final match, while Finland played Germany at the same time, with England and Germany guaranteed the top two places and separated only by goal difference. Greece unexpectedly took the lead twice at Old Trafford, but England captain David Beckham scored an injury-time free kick to level the game. Germany could only manage a 0–0 draw against Finland, meaning England topped the group on goal difference.[1]

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   England 8 5 2 1 16 6 +10 17 Qualification to 2002 FIFA World Cup — 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–0
2   Germany 8 5 2 1 14 10 +4 17 Advance to UEFA play-offs 1–5 — 0–0 2–0 2–1
3   Finland 8 3 3 2 12 7 +5 12 0–0 2–2 — 5–1 2–1
4   Greece 8 2 1 5 7 17 −10 7 0–2 2–4 1–0 — 1–0
5   Albania 8 1 0 7 5 14 −9 3 1–3 0–2 0–2 2–0 —
Source: [2]

Matches

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Finland  2–1  Albania
Litmanen   45'
Riihilahti   68'		 Report Murati   64'
Attendance: 10,770
Germany  2–0  Greece
Deisler   18'
Scholl   78'		 Report
Attendance: 48,500
Main article: 2000 England v Germany football match
England  0–1  Germany
Report Hamann   14'
Attendance: 76,377
Greece  1–0  Finland
Liberopoulos   59' Report
Attendance: 15,000
Albania  2–0  Greece
Bushi   48'
Fakaj   90'		 Report
Attendance: 10,200
Finland  0–0  England
Report
Attendance: 36,210
Referee: Alain Sars (France)
England  2–1  Finland
Owen   44'
Beckham   50'		 Report Riihilahti   26'
Attendance: 44,262
Germany  2–1  Albania
Deisler   49'
Klose   87'		 Report Kola   65'
Attendance: 22,500
Albania  1–3  England
Rraklli   90+2' Report Owen   74'
Scholes   85'
Andy Cole   90+6'
Attendance: 18,000
Greece  2–4  Germany
Charisteas   20'
Georgiadis   43'		 Report Rehmer   6'
Ballack   25' (pen.)
Klose   82'
Bode   90'
Attendance: 32,173
Finland  2–2  Germany
Forssell   28', 43' Report Ballack   69' (pen.)
Jancker   73'
Attendance: 35,744
Greece  1–0  Albania
Machlas   70' Report
Attendance: 5,500
Albania  0–2  Germany
Report Rehmer   27'
Ballack   68'
Attendance: 12,800
Greece  0–2  England
Report Scholes   63'
Beckham   87'
Attendance: 29,300
Albania  0–2  Finland
Report Tainio   55'
Kuqi   90+3'
Attendance: 6,400
Referee: Erol Ersoy (Turkey)
Main article: 2001 Germany v England football match
Germany  1–5  England
Jancker   6' Report Owen   12', 48', 65'
Gerrard   45+3'
Heskey   73'
Attendance: 63,000
Finland  5–1  Greece
Forssell   14', 45'
Riihilahti   21'
Kolkka   38'
Litmanen   53'		 Report Karagounis   30'
Attendance: 27,216
England  2–0  Albania
Owen   43'
Fowler   88'		 Report
Attendance: 51,046
England  2–2  Greece
Sheringham   68'
Beckham   90+3'		 Report Charisteas   36'
Nikolaidis   69'
Attendance: 66,000
Germany  0–0  Finland
Report
Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)

Goalscorers

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There were 54 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.7 goals per match.

6 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

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  1. ^ "Germans left in trauma after trial by television". Guardian. 8 October 2001. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2002, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
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