2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
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
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |   |   |   |   | .svg.png)  |   | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | .svg.png) 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
| Bulgaria  | 0–1 |  Czech Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Poborský  73' (pen.) | 
| Northern Ireland .svg.png) | 1–0 |  Malta | 
|---|---|---|
| Gray  70' | Report | 
| Northern Ireland .svg.png) | 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 | .svg.png) Northern Ireland | 
|---|---|---|
| Th. Guðjónsson  89' | Report | 
| Northern Ireland .svg.png) | 0–1 |  Czech Republic | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nedvěd  12' | 
| Bulgaria  | 4–3 | .svg.png) 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 .svg.png) | 0–1 |  Bulgaria | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | G. Ivanov  52' | 
| Iceland  | 3–0 |  Malta | 
|---|---|---|
| T. Guðmundsson  7' Daðason  38' E. Guðjohnsen  68' | Report | 
| Czech Republic  | 3–1 | .svg.png) Northern Ireland | 
|---|---|---|
| Kuka  40', 88' Baroš  90' | Report | Mulryne  45' | 
| Denmark  | 1–1 | .svg.png) 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 | .svg.png) Northern Ireland | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Healy  57' (pen.) | 
Goalscorers
There 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
- ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2002, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 19 April 2024.