A World Cup nation once again

Again the game ended 1-0 and again Mick McCarthy rushed to those players who had served him so well. This, though, was a far cry from Lansdowne Road in the aftermath of September's win over Holland. Amid the blazing fires, the jeering crowd and the Iranian players making their way towards the calm of the dressing-room under a rain of bottles and other missiles, the Irish stayed a moment and celebrated. They, rather than their hosts here yesterday, will return to the World Cup finals next summer.

Vindication for Mick McCarthy and the team he has built from the debris of the Jack Charlton era has taken a while to arrive. Last night at the Azadi stadium, though, in front of 80,000 spectators who had convinced themselves beforehand that it simply would not happen, the Republic confirmed their return after an eight-year absence to the world's elite. Finally, the agonies of Brussels and Bursa can be consigned to history.

The single-goal margin of Ireland's aggregate win makes the achievement look a little less convincing than it was in reality. Yahya Golmohammadi's headed goal from a free kick on the right came only a minute into stoppage time, so, while Ireland's defending occasionally had an uncomfortably improvised look about it, there was never any desperation in an admittedly poor match.

Through the second period the Iranians came forward in numbers and exerted almost relentless pressure on Shay Given and his defence. As they did against the Dutch, though, the back four held fast and frustrated opponents who will nevertheless rue the fact that the quality of their finishing only once matched the general tidiness of their build-ups from the flanks and, late on, through the centre.

Late on McCarthy bolstered the numbers in front of Given by throwing on Gary Kelly as a third centre back, but by then the Donegalman had made all the really memorable interventions of the night and once again marked himself out as a key figure in the story of his country's qualification for next summer's finals in Japan and South Korea.

The 10 minutes after the break were probably the most crucial for McCarthy's men as Iran pressed forward and, for the first time, began to sense they might find a way through to Given and his goal.

Karim Bagheri's drive just wide of the post seven minutes in after fine work by Ali Daei and Ali Karimi was the sort of disappointment that huge local support was repeatedly subjected to over the closing stages.

Earlier, Given made the intervention that was to prove as pivotal as any at the weekend. The Newcastle goalkeeper first punched the ball off the head of Daei, then recovered his position quickly enough to make a stunning stop down low to his right and scramble the ball past the post.

At regular intervals after that the 25-year-old was forced to make his presence felt, but only once before the goal was he left genuinely helpless, when, 10 minutes from time, Karimi pulled the ball back low from the line for Daei, but it ran a foot or so behind the striker to Steve Finnan who calmly cleared upfield.

The ball, as it was with increasing speed as the half progressed, was returned to the Irish danger area swiftly by the home side, but try as they might Miroslav Blazevic's men simply couldn't find a way to net until the clock had all but run out on them.

The frantic finish was in stark contrast with a first half in which the Irish hadn't looked to be in any great trouble. Iran's three serious attempts on goal to Ireland's couple of half-hearted ones reflected the balance of play.

The hosts, as you would expect, enjoyed much more of the possession, but their carelessness with the ball (Karim Bagheri was a particular offender through the first 20 minutes), combined with the doggedness of their opponents just in front of the box, meant that their approach work rarely came to much.

The bulk of Ireland's moves forward came down the right flank, where Mehrdad Minavand had been left with a lot of space to cover by Blazevic's decision to push Nikbahkt on from the left side of midfield, where he had played on Saturday, into attack.

Offensively the move worked well, with Ali Daei benefiting greatly from the addition of a second man to his supporting cast. But the downside was quickly obvious as Finnan, Mark Kinsella, Jason McAteer and David Connolly combined well in an attempt to open up the vacated space.

Connolly worked particularly hard over the course of those opening stages. The 24-year-old Wimbledon striker dropped deep and wide as required in the hope of upsetting opponents on the ball.

Occasionally, though, the lack of a more experienced man up front showed, and Connolly's promising run to the left flank 20 minutes in was the best example. While one of the Irish front men made space to get a cross in, the other had come short, and Robbie Keane's arrival on the edge of the box left just Jason McAteer to pose a threat around Ebrahim Mirzapour's goalmouth.

It was in defence, though, that most of the Irish industry was produced, and Steve Staunton and Gary Breen were obliged to take as much help as they could get from their central midfielders.

Kinsella, in particular, made an impressive return, although there was little enough he could have been expected to do to counter the steady stream of angled crosses from out on Mehdi Mahdavikia's right flank.

IRAN: Mirzapour; Peyrovani, Golmohammadi, Rezaei; Mahdavikia, Kavianpour, Bagheri, Minavand; Karimi, Daei, Nikbahkt.

IRELAND: Given (Newcastle United); Finnan (Fulham), Breen (Coventry City), Staunton (Aston Villa), Harte (Leeds United); McAteer (Sunderland), Kinsella (Charlton Athletic), Holland (Ipswich Town), Kilbane (Sunderland); Connolly (Wimbledon), Keane (Leeds United). Subs: Morrison (Crystal Palace) for Keane (76 mins), Kelly (Leeds United) for Kilbane (82 mins).

Referee: Matios Vega (Costa Rica)