The Republic of Ireland will face Germany, Saudi Arabia and Cameroon in next Summer's soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The draw for the tournament, which was made this morning in Pusan, South Korea, puts Mick McCarthy's side in Group E.
The Republic of Ireland will be based in Japan for the group stage of the competition. If the side qualifies for the last 16, it will have to play its remaining games in South Korea.
The team's opening game in the World Cup will be on Saturday 1 June 2002 against Cameroon. The reigning African Nations Cup champions have players dotted all over Europe, including midfielder-cum-full back Lauren who plays for Arsenal. He joined for the Gunners in a £7m move from Spain's Real Mallorca at the start of last season. Ireland have never played Cameroon before. The team, dubbed the "Indomitable Lions," reached the quarter finals of the 1990 World Cup before losing to England in extra time.
Today's draw also opened up the possibility of a mouth-watering pre-tournament friendly against Argentina, who have been drawn against England in a section which has inevitably being tagged the "Group of Death". Preliminary negotiations with Argentina opened soon after the Irish booked their passage to the Far East by overcoming Iran in a two-legged play-off last month.
This could mean that world stars like Juan Sebastian Veron, Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo could arrive in Dublin in April or May to test themselves against a similar style of play to World Cup opponents England and Sweden.
The draw for the group stage of the 2002 World Cup:
Group A
France, Senegal, Uruguay, Denmark
Group B
Spain, Slovenia, Paraguay, South Africa
Group C
Brazil, Turkey, China, Costa Rica
Group D
South Korea, Poland, USA, Portugal
Group E
Germany, Saudi Arabia, Rep of Ireland, Cameroon
Group F
Argentina, Nigeria, England, Sweden
Group G
Italy, Ecuador, Croatia, Mexico
Group H
Japan, Belgium, Russia, Tunisia
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
