France was heading to a 1-0 loss and penalty shootout when captain Thierry Henry slapped the ball with his hand to stop it going out of play and again to set it up for a cross that William Gallas headed in to secure the draw.
The goal means France, the 1998 World Cup winner and 2006 runner-up, won 2-1 over two legs following Saturday's 1-0 win in Dublin - which it only secured with the help of a big deflection off an Ireland defender.
Portugal and world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo will be at the World Cup after a 1-0 win at Bosnia, Slovenia beat Russia 1-0 to win its two-legged playoff on away goals and Greece won 1-0 at Ukraine to advance by the same score.
Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in a playoff to take Africa's fifth and final qualifying spot, while the last remaining berth at the 32-nation tournament will be decided later Wednesday when Uruguay hosts Costa Rica.
Qualifiers Spain, the Netherlands and Italy were among the teams in friendly action Wednesday, while Germany drew 2-2 with Ivory Coast in its first game since the suicide of national team goalkeeper Robert Enke last week.
France had looked shaky at Stade de France despite holding a 1-0 lead going into the game but had an extra-time goal by Sidney Govou ruled out for offside before he scored.
The referee and his assistants failed to spot an offside as France played a 104th-minute free kick into the area, but the ball seemed to be bouncing harmlessly wide of the goal until Henry controlled it with his hand.
Gallas headed in from close range and the referee waved away protests from goalkeeper Shay Given and his Ireland teammates that Henry had cheated.
Ireland had looked the more menacing for much of the game and led through Robbie Keane's 41st international goal.
Kevin Kilbane and Damien Duff worked space on the left wing 12 minutes before halftime and the latter pulled a cross back to Keane in the middle of the area. The Ireland captain was totally unmarked and hit a firm right-footed shot low into the bottom corner - forcing extra time.
Portugal qualified for its third straight World Cup 2-0 on aggregate after defender Raul Meireles scored with a low shot in the 56th from Nani's pass.
Striker Zlatko Dedic scored Slovenia's winning goal a minute before halftime in Maribor, shooting past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev from a pass by Valter Birsa.
Slovenia, which counts 2 million people to Russia's 142 million, secured a 2-2 draw over two legs and qualifies courtesy of Nejc Pecnik's 87th-minute goal in Saturday's 2-1 loss in Moscow.
Greece qualified for its second World Cup appearance and first since 1994 after Panathinaikos striker Dimitrios Salpigidis scored in the 31st in Donetsk.
The 2004 European champions advanced 1-0 on aggregate after the teams drew 0-0 in the first leg in Athens.
"I can't find words to describe the atmosphere in the dressing room," Greek Football Federation chairman Sofoklis Plavios said. "This triumph is unbelievable. No one is saying anything. They're just celebrating and hugging each other."
Algeria became the fifth African team to qualify with a 39th-minute goal from an unlikely source.
Defender Antar Yahya took advantage of a defensive lapse by Egypt to score from an acute angle with a right-footed volley that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
The win secured Algeria's first World Cup appearance since 1986 and again showed Egypt's inability to carry its impressive form in Africa into the world's premier tournament.
The record six-time African Cup holder dominated possession but created few opportunities and still has not appeared at a World Cup in 1990.
The Algerians follow Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana in qualifying, while South Africa has a spot as host.
Uruguay holds a 1-0 lead from the first leg and looks likely to qualify.
David Villa scored twice to lead European champion Spain to a 5-1 win at Austria, Giorgio Chiellini earned Italy a 1-0 win over Sweden and the Netherlands drew 0-0 with Paraguay.
Lukasz Podolski scored the first and last goals of the match to earn Germany a draw in Gelsenkirchen, while Emmanuel Eboue and Seydou Doumbia scored for the African team.
The Germany players paid tribute to Enke in an open letter before the game, calling him a "good friend whose death brought us a little bit closer together."
Enke killed himself eight days ago after suffering for years from depression. Germany canceled another friendly against Chile last week out of respect.
Also Wednesday, Denmark rallied to beat the United States 3-1, Serbia ended South Korea's 27-match unbeaten run with a 1-0 win in neutral London, and Bulgaria won 4-1 at Malta.
