Republic Of Ireland's 5 Most Memorable Moments

4. Beating Holland 1-0 €“ 2002 Qualifiers

Landsdowne Road, Dublin, September 1st, 2001 World Cup 2002 had its controversies but was no doubt one of the most enjoyable times to be an Ireland fan. Before even getting there though, Ireland had to get through the qualifying stage. Their group also featured Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia and the two favourites to qualify, Portugal and Holland. Despite not being given much hope of finishing any higher than third, Ireland put up one of the best fights in its history. Game one set the tone for the group as Ireland went 2-0 up against Holland away from home in Amsterdam thanks to two goals from Robbie Keane and Jason McAteer. In the last twenty minutes, Holland pulled two goals back, to earn the ROI an unexpected 2-2 draw. They followed up with another somewhat surprising away from home draw against Portugal, ending 1-1 in Lisbon. Fans were understandably optimistic, but wary of the team dropping points against the lesser teams. Mick McCarthy's team performed, picking up maximum points in the rest of their games, before being poised to take on Portugal and Holland once again in the business end of the group. By the time the final game of the group came around, Ireland had again drawn with Portugal, setting up a match in Dublin against Holland in which the winner would be guaranteed the playoff place. Over the course of the qualifiers, Roy Keane had been rallying the team to give themselves more credit and stop underestimating themselves. On the other side of things, Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal claimed that even Ireland believed Holland were the better side and wanted to see them advance to the World Cup. On the pitch, it was Roy Keane who was heard the loudest as 35 seconds into the game he clattered into Marc Overmars, sending the tension in the game into overdrive. After being reduced to ten men when Gary Kelly was sent off, expectations took a dive, as being outnumbered against one of Europe's finest was hardly an ideal situation. Despite the circumstances, Irish belief held strong. After a strong tackle on Roy Keane, the ball eventually ended up at the feet of Steve Finnan who swept in a cross to an unmarked Jason McAteer who belted the ball into the back of Van Der Sar's net. Van Gaal had no answer to Ireland in the final minutes, making Ireland 1-0 winners, giving them the one playoff place and sending Holland out of the tournament.