1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off)

The 1994 FIFA World Cup OFC–CONMEBOL qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament and CONCACAF–OFC play-off winners, Australia, and the second-placed team from the CONMEBOL Group 1, Argentina.

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
(CONMEBOL–OFC play-off)

Event	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
Australia Argentina 1 2
(on aggregate)
First leg
Australia Argentina 1 1
Date	31 October 1993
Venue	Football Stadium, Sydney
Referee	Sándor Puhl (Hungary)
Attendance	43,967
Second leg
Argentina Australia 1 0
Date	17 November 1993
Venue	Monumental, Buenos Aires
Referee	Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)
Attendance	67,000

Overview

The games were played on 31 October and 17 November 1993 in Sydney and Buenos Aires respectively. Australia was hoping to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974, and Argentina was hoping to qualify after reaching the FIFA World Cup Final three times in the previous four FIFA World Cups. The only time that Argentina failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup was in 1970. This qualification play-off notably immediately followed Argentina's 5–0 defeat by Colombia at home in Buenos Aires on 5 September 1993. The crowd of 43,967 who watched the first leg played at the Sydney Football Stadium was at the time a stadium record crowd for any sporting event.^[1]

The series were notable for being the first time Argentina had to play a qualification play-off match in their history. Moreover, the series saw the return of Diego Maradona to the national team after a long dispute with manager Alfio Basile.^[2] Some years later, Maradona suggested that drug tests were deliberately avoided during the series, stating that "to play against Australia, the Association gave us a 'fast coffee'" to drink before the match.^[3]

Background

Argentina		Round	Australia
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Colombia 6 4 2 0 13 2 11 10  Argentina 6 3 1 2 7 9 −2 7  Paraguay 6 1 4 1 6 7 −1 6  Peru 6 0 1 5 4 12 −8 1		Final standings	Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Australia 4 4 0 0 13 2 11 8  Tahiti 4 1 1 2 5 8 −3 3  Solomon Islands 4 0 1 3 5 13 −8 1
		Final round (OFC)	Opponent	Result
		1st leg	New Zealand (A)	1–0
		2nd leg	New Zealand (H)	3–0
		1st play-off	Opponent	Result
		1st leg	Canada (A)	1–2
		2nd leg	Canada (H)	2–1 (4–1 PSO)

Match details

First leg

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff

31 October 1993

22:10 UTC+11

First leg

Australia	1–1	Argentina
A. Vidmar 42'		37' Balbo

Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 43,697

Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

Australia

Argentina

GK 1 Mark Bosnich DF 19 Tony Vidmar  72' DF 13 Mehmet Durakovic DF 12 Milan Ivanovic DF 5 Alex Tobin MF 4 Ned Zelic MF 8 Aurelio Vidmar MF 6 Paul Wade (c) MF 11 Robbie Slater MF 10 Jason van Blerk FW 9 Graham Arnold Substitutes: FW 7 Dave Mitchell  72' Manager: Eddie Thomson

GK 1 Sergio Goycoechea SW 2 Jorge Borelli DF 6 Sergio Vázquez DF 14 José Chamot DF 3 Carlos Mac Allister MF 15 Hugo Pérez MF 5 Fernando Redondo MF 8 José Basualdo  70' MF 10 Diego Maradona (c) FW 18 Abel Balbo  89' FW 9 Gabriel Batistuta Substitutes: MF 17 Gustavo Zapata  70' DF 13 Fernando Cáceres  89' Manager: Alfio Basile

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Second leg

17 November 1993

21:15 UTC−3

Second leg

Argentina	1–0	Australia
Tobin 59' (o.g.) [note 1]	[[[Category:All articles with unsourced statements]][citation needed] Report]

Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 59,768

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

Argentina

Australia

GK 1 Sergio Goycoechea DF 14 José Chamot DF 2 Sergio Vázquez DF 6 Oscar Ruggeri DF 3 Carlos Mac Allister MF 5 Fernando Redondo MF 15 Hugo Pérez MF 8 Diego Simeone MF 10 Diego Maradona (c) FW 18 Abel Balbo  70' FW 9 Gabriel Batistuta Substitutes: MF 20 Gustavo Zapata  70' Manager: Alfio Basile

GK 20 Robert Zabica DF 12 Milan Ivanovic DF 5 Alex Tobin DF 19 Tony Vidmar  64' DF 13 Mehmet Durakovic MF 11 Robbie Slater MF 10 Jason Van Blerk MF 6 Paul Wade (c) MF 8 Aurelio Vidmar FW 7 Graham Arnold FW 9 Frank Farina Substitutes: FW 17 Carl Veart  64' Manager: Eddie Thomson

Notes

1. Other sources attribute this goal as scored by Gabriel Batistuta

Broadcasting rights

•  Australia: SBS
• Argentina: Canal 9, NexTV! & TeleRed (Only first leg are broadcast live); Eltrece, Canal 30 & Nuevo Siglo Cable TV (Only second leg are broadcast live)
• United Kingdom: Sky Sports
• United States: ESPN (English) and Telemundo (Spanish)