The six teams in this group played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner Denmark qualified for the 17th FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. The runner-up Czech Republic advanced to the UEFA Play-off and played against Belgium. Denmark went through the group undefeated, but four draws - three in their first five matches - kept the Czech Republic in the hunt despite the latter shipping an unexpected loss to Iceland, which in turn kept Bulgaria in with a shout for second place. In fact, in the final round of matches, the Czechs were level with Bulgaria on points but delivered a 6-0 hammering: while Denmark, just two points ahead of the Czechs, thrashed Iceland by the same margin to maintain their lead in the group.
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 6 | +16 | 22 | Qualification to 2002 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Czech Republic
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 20 | Advance to UEFA play-offs | 0–0 | — | 6–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | |
| 3 | Bulgaria
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 17 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 4–3 | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | Iceland
|
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 20 | −6 | 13 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | Northern Ireland
|
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 11 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | Malta
|
10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 24 | −20 | 1 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — |
Matches
edit| Bulgaria | 0–1 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Poborský  73' (pen.) |
| Northern Ireland | 1–0 | Malta |
|---|---|---|
| Gray 70' |
Report |
| Northern Ireland | 1–1 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
| Healy 38' |
Report | Rommedahl 59' |
| Czech Republic | 4–0 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Koller 17', 40' Nedvěd 44', 90' |
Report |
| Bulgaria | 3–0 | Malta |
|---|---|---|
| G. Ivanov 40', 65' S. Todorov 90' |
Report |
| Iceland | 1–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Th. Guðjónsson 89' |
Report |
| Northern Ireland | 0–1 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nedvěd 12' |
| Bulgaria | 4–3 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Balakov 7' (pen.) Petrov 17', 78'Chomakov 72' |
Report | Williams 15' Elliott 84'Healy 90' (pen.) |
| Malta | 1–4 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Mifsud 14' |
Report | T. Guðmundsson 42' He. Sigurdsson 44'E. Guðjohnsen 81'Th. Guðjónsson 90' |
| Northern Ireland | 0–1 | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Report | G. Ivanov 52' |
| Iceland | 3–0 | Malta |
|---|---|---|
| T. Guðmundsson 7' Daðason 38'E. Guðjohnsen 68' |
Report |
| Czech Republic | 3–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Kuka 40', 88' Baroš 90' |
Report | Mulryne 45' |
| Denmark | 1–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Rommedahl 3' |
Report | Mulryne 73' |
| Iceland | 3–1 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| E. Sverrisson 45', 77' A. Sigthórsson 66' |
Report | Jankulovski 88' |
| Czech Republic | 3–2 | Malta |
|---|---|---|
| Jankulovski 20' Lokvenc 37'Baroš 68' |
Report | Carabott 22' (pen.) G. Agius 55' |
| Malta | 0–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Healy 57' (pen.) |
Goalscorers
editThere were 85 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 2.83 goals per match.
9 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
References
edit- ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2002, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 19 April 2024.