UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying play-off

Football match

UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying play-off

Anfield in Liverpool hosted the play-off

Event| UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
| Republic of Ireland | Netherlands

|

0 | 2
Netherlands qualified for UEFA Euro 1996
Date| 13 December 1995 (1995-12-13)
Venue| Anfield, Liverpool (England)
Referee| Vadim Zhuk (Belarus)
Attendance| 40,050

The UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying play-off was a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying match to decide the final participant for UEFA Euro 1996. It was played on 13 December 1995 at Anfield in Liverpool, England, a neutral venue, between the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands. The Netherlands won 2–0, therefore qualifying for the 1996 European Championship.[1]

## Background

[edit]

The UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying group stage consisted of eight groups with five or six countries in each group. Each group winner qualified directly for Euro 1996 in England, and the eight group runners-up were compared in a separate table. The top six countries qualify automatically for Euro 1996 while the bottom two countries would face each other in a one-off match playoff to determine the sixteenth and last team that would participate in the next summer's European Championship.[2]

### Netherlands (Group 5)

[edit]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Group 5

After the 1994 FIFA World Cup the Netherlands started the qualifying campaign for Euro 1996 under coach Dick Advocaat. In December, Advocaat moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he succeeded Kees Rijvers as head coach. In January 1995 48-year-old Guus Hiddink took charge of the national team. Under the new coach, the Netherlands finished second in Group 5, 1 point behind the Czech Republic, and tied at 20 points with Norway. The Netherlands had the better head-to-head against Norway, thus putting the Dutch in second place.

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Czech Republic | 10  | 6  | 3  | 1  | 21  | 6  | +15  | 21  | Qualify for final tournament
2  |  Netherlands | 10  | 6  | 2  | 2  | 23  | 5  | +18  | 20[a] | Advance to play-off
3  |  Norway | 10  | 6  | 2  | 2  | 17  | 7  | +10  | 20[a] |
4  |  Belarus | 10  | 3  | 2  | 5  | 8  | 13  | −5  | 11
5  |  Luxembourg | 10  | 3  | 1  | 6  | 3  | 21  | −18  | 10
6  |  Malta | 10  | 0  | 2  | 8  | 2  | 22  | −20  | 2

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:

1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Netherlands 4, Norway 1.

### Republic of Ireland (Group 6)

[edit]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Group 6

The Republic of Ireland had a strong start to their group, when they won their opening three games, including a 4–0 win against Northern Ireland. The Republic's next game was also against Northern Ireland, although the result was a 1–1 draw. From that point onwards the Republic stuttered badly as injuries struck down key players such as Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, John Sheridan, and Steve Staunton.[3] After beating the highly fancied Portugal, the Irish then endured an embarrassing 0–0 draw to Liechtenstein (this was Liechtenstein's only point in their ten matches), before losing twice to Austria, on both occasions by three goals to one. Although they defeated Latvia, Ireland needed to beat Portugal in Lisbon to qualify outright but lost 3–0. The Republic of Ireland therefore finished second in Group 6, 6 points behind Portugal, and tied at 17 points with Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland had the better head-to-head against Northern Ireland, thus putting the Republic of Ireland in second place.

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Portugal | 10  | 7  | 2  | 1  | 29  | 7  | +22  | 23  | Qualify for final tournament
2  |  Republic of Ireland | 10  | 5  | 2  | 3  | 17  | 11  | +6  | 17[a] | Advance to play-off
3  |  Northern Ireland | 10  | 5  | 2  | 3  | 20  | 15  | +5  | 17[a] |
4  |  Austria | 10  | 5  | 1  | 4  | 29  | 14  | +15  | 16
5  |  Latvia | 10  | 4  | 0  | 6  | 11  | 20  | −9  | 12
6  |  Liechtenstein | 10  | 0  | 1  | 9  | 1  | 40  | −39  | 1

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:

1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Republic of Ireland 4, Northern Ireland 1.

### Ranking of second-placed teams

[edit]

The runners-up of each of the eight groups were placed in a table to decide which seven of them would qualify. The best six runners-up qualified directly, while the two worst competed in a play-off on a neutral ground to determine the final qualifier. As one group had five teams and the others had six, results against fifth and sixth-placed teams were not factored in. The Netherlands finished seventh in the table, while the Republic of Ireland finished eighth and last, therefore qualifying both countries to the play-off.

Pos | Grp | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | 4 |  Italy | 6  | 4  | 1  | 1  | 12  | 4  | +8  | 13  | Qualify for final tournament
2  | 7 |  Bulgaria | 6  | 4  | 0  | 2  | 14  | 8  | +6  | 12
3  | 3 |  Turkey | 6  | 3  | 2  | 1  | 11  | 8  | +3  | 11
4  | 8 |  Scotland | 6  | 3  | 2  | 1  | 5  | 2  | +3  | 11
5  | 2 |  Denmark | 6  | 3  | 2  | 1  | 9  | 7  | +2  | 11
6  | 1 |  France | 6  | 2  | 4  | 0  | 8  | 2  | +6  | 10
7  | 5 |  Netherlands | 6  | 2  | 2  | 2  | 6  | 5  | +1  | 8  | Advance to play-off
8  | 6 |  Republic of Ireland | 6  | 2  | 1  | 3  | 8  | 10  | −2  | 7

Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fourth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Drawing of lots.

## Summary

[edit]

Team 1  |  Score | Team 2

|
|

Republic of Ireland | 0–2 |  Netherlands

## Match

[edit]

### Summary

[edit]

Dutch forward Patrick Kluivert opened the scoring with a low shot to the right corner after 29 minutes to put the Netherlands ahead. Kluivert then wrapped the match up with his second goal, lifting the ball over the advancing Alan Kelly with two minutes to go, giving the Netherlands a 2–0 win and sending them through to Euro 1996.[4]

### Details

[edit]

13 December 1995 (1995-12-13)

20:00 GMT

Republic of Ireland | 0–2|  Netherlands

|
|

| Report |

* Kluivert 30', 89'

Anfield, Liverpool (England)

Attendance: 40,050

Referee: Vadim Zhuk (Belarus)

Republic of Ireland

Netherlands

|

|  |

|

GK | 1 | Alan Kelly
RB | 2 | Gary Kelly
CB | 5 | Paul McGrath
CB | 4 | Phil Babb
LB | 3 | Denis Irwin
RM | 6 | Jeff Kenna
CM | 7 | Andy Townsend (c) |  |  51'
CM | 10 | John Sheridan
LM | 11 | Terry Phelan
CF | 8 | John Aldridge |  |  72'
CF | 9 | Tony Cascarino
Substitutions:
MF | 14 | Jason McAteer |  |  51'
DF | 15 | Alan Kernaghan |  85' |  72'
Manager:
Jack Charlton
|  |  |

|

GK | 1 | Edwin van der Sar
RB | 2 | Michael Reiziger
CB | 3 | Danny Blind (c) |  79'
CB | 4 | Clarence Seedorf
LB | 5 | Winston Bogarde
CM | 6 | Ronald de Boer
CM | 8 | Edgar Davids
AM | 10 | Dennis Bergkamp |  |  58'
RF | 7 | Marc Overmars
CF | 9 | Patrick Kluivert
LF | 11 | Glenn Helder |  |  79'
Substitutions:
DF | 13 | Johan de Kock |  |  58'
MF | 12 | Aron Winter |  |  79'
Manager:
Guus Hiddink

Match rules[5]

* 90 minutes.
* 30 minutes of golden goal extra time if necessary.
* Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
* Maximum of three substitutions.

## Goalscorers

[edit]

There were 2 goals scored in 1 match, for an average of 2 goals per match.

2 goals

* Patrick Kluivert

## Aftermath

[edit]

This was Jack Charlton's final match as coach of the Republic of Ireland, as he resigned after the match.

After failing to qualify for the European Championship, Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton resigned shortly after the game. Charlton bid Irish fans an emotional farewell after ten memorable years in charge which saw him help Ireland qualify for their first ever European Championship in 1988 and their first and second ever World Cups in 1990 and 1994.

> "In my heart of hearts, I knew I'd wrung as much as I could out of the squad I'd got – that some of my older players had given me all they had to give."

> — Charlton speaking in his autobiography on his decision to retire.[6]

The Netherlands advanced on to Euro 1996, where they finished second in Group A behind hosts England, thus qualifying them for the knockout stage. In the quarter-finals, they drew 0–0 after extra time to France, before losing 4–5 on penalties, as Clarence Seedorf missed his spot kick.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Play-offs - 13/12/1995 - 21:00CET (20:00 local time) - Anfield - Liverpool". uefa.com. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
2. ^ European Championship 1996 qualifications
3. ^ Charlton, Jack; Byrne, Peter (1996), The Autobiography, Partridge Press, p. 299, ISBN 1-85225-256-1
4. ^ Leahy, Ed (10 November 2011). "Ireland's chequered play-off history". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
5. ^ Stewart, Colin (18 November 1995). "Unfulfilled Daglish in the running for Wolves job". The Scotsman. p. 31. Retrieved 10 January 2025. "UEFA also announced that the Republic of Ireland's qualifying play-off with the Netherlands at Anfield on 13 December will incorporate the "golden goal" rule and will be refereed by the Belarus official, Vadim Zhuk."
6. ^ Charlton 1996, p. 298

* v
* t
* e

UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying

* Group stage
* Group 1
* France v Azerbaijan
* Group 2
* Group 3
* Group 4
* Group 5
* Group 6
* Group 7
* Group 8
* Play-off

* v
* t
* e

Republic of Ireland national football team matches

FIFA World Cup qualification|

* 2–1 (agg.) vs. Iran (2002)
* 1–2 (agg.) vs. France (2009)

UEFA European Championship qualifying|

* 2–4 (agg.) vs. Czechoslovakia (1959)
* 0–2 vs. Netherlands (1995)

Other matches|

* 2–0 vs. England (1949)
* Abandoned game vs. England (1995)

* v
* t
* e

Netherlands national football team matches

FIFA World Cup|

| Finals|

* 1974
* 1978
* 2010

|

Other|

* Portugal 1–0 Netherlands (2006)
* Argentina 2–2 Netherlands (a.e.t., 4–3 pen.) (2022)

UEFA Championship|

| Finals|

* 1988

|

Qualifying|

* 1996 play-off

UEFA Nations League Final|

* 2019

Friendlies|

* Yugoslavia 0–2 Netherlands (1990)

* v
* t
* e

UEFA European Championship qualifying play-offs

* Quarter-finals
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*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[Grp]: Group