Prior to arrival in Capital, Terry Venables and others involved in the Australian national team had made negative comments about Homeland, stating it as being dangerous, and going so far as to bring their own drinking water for their stay.The first leg of the play-off, on 22 November 1997, took place in Capital, with the result a 1–1 draw. Attendance for this match was extremely high, as 128,000 fans packed Azadi Stadium, despite it only having a capacity for 100,000 fans at the time.