1994 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
Group 3 consisted of seven of the 39 teams entered into the European zone:[1] Albania, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Spain. These seven teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 12 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots. All of the games played in Spain were played in both the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and Benito Villamarín stadiums in Seville because of the warmer weather there.
One of the most popular topics of the group was the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland being in the same group ('The Troubles' were still ongoing). The Republic would clinch qualification in the final round of games by drawing away to their northern rivals,[2] while Spain's 1–0 win over Denmark meant they qualified as winners. Spain qualified with the best record among the group winners. In one of the closest qualifying groups, just one point separated the top three sides. The Republic of Ireland qualified at Denmark's expense only on goals scored, as their points and goal difference were identical.
Standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain |
12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 4 | +23 | 19 |
 Republic of Ireland |
12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 6 | +13 | 18 |
 Denmark |
12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 18 |
 Northern Ireland |
12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 13 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Lithuania |
12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 7 |
 Latvia |
12 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 21 | −17 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Albania |
12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 26 | −20 | 4 |
Results
| Northern Ireland | 2–2 | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
Wilson  13'Taggart 16' |
Report | Narbekovas 41' Fridrikas 48' |
| Republic of Ireland | 2–0 |  Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Aldridge 60' McGrath 80' |
Report |
| Albania | 1–1 | Latvia |
|---|---|---|
| Kepa 67' |
Report | Aleksejenko 3' |
| Northern Ireland | 0–1 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
| Report | H. Larsen 51' |
| Spain | 5–0 | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Cristóbal 5' Bakero 12'Begiristain 17'Christiansen 86'Aldana 90' |
Report |
| Republic of Ireland | 3–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Townsend 20' Quinn 22'Staunton 28' |
Report |
| Lithuania | 3–1 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Baltušnikas 20' Sukristovas 25'Baranauskas 63' |
Report | Demollari 86' |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–1 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
| Quinn 75' |
Report | Vilfort 27' |
| Spain | 3–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| J. Salinas 21', 26' Hierro 41' |
Report | Wilson 11' |
| Lithuania | 0–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Dowie 8' |
| Latvia | 0–2 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Aldridge 14' McGrath 42' |
| Republic of Ireland | 2–0 | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Aldridge 4' Kernaghan 25' |
Report |
| Northern Ireland | 2–0 | Latvia |
|---|---|---|
| Quinn 35' Gray 80' |
Report |
| Denmark | 1–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| B. Laudrup 83' |
Report |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–3 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Sheridan 72' |
Report | Caminero 11' J. Salinas 14', 26' |
| Northern Ireland | 1–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Quinn 74' |
Report | McLoughlin 78' |
Goalscorers
- 7 goals
- 6 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
|
|
|
|
- 1 goal
Notes
- Only 37 of the entered teams actually competed in the qualification tournament: Germany qualified for the World Cup automatically as defending champions and Liechtenstein withdrew before the draw was made Additionally, Yugoslavia was suspended by FIFA due to UN sanctions stemming from the Yugoslav wars.
- 'There was poison in the air': 25 years on from that night in Windsor Park, Irish Times, 10 November 2018
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVCoKICFvFc
- Other sources attribute this goal as an own goal by Baltušnikas of Lithuania.