1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 10 March 1996 – 29 November 1997 174 6 644 1925 IRN Karim Bagheri(19 goals) 1994 2002 The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. 174 teams entered the qualification rounds, while two places were reserved for France and Brazil as host nation and defending champions, respectively. Qualified teams thumb|center|700px|#0000ff Country qualified for World Cup #ffcc00 Country failed to qualify #000000 Country did not enter World Cup #e0e0e0 Country not a FIFA member Team Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Consecutivefinalsappearances Previous bestperformance FIFA rankingat start of eventFIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking (20 May 1998) https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=50/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160222025820/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=50/index.html dead February 22, 2016 FIFA.com Fédération Internationale de Football Association 27 January 2012FRA 1974 Host 2 July 1992 10th 1986 1 Third place (1958, 1986) 18BRA 1994 FIFA World Cup winners 17 July 1994 16th 1994 16 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994) 1NGA CAF final round group 1 winners 7 June 1997 2nd 1994 2 Round of 16 (1994) 74TUN 1959 CAF final round group 2 winners 8 June 1997 2nd 1978 1 Group stage (1978) 21MAR CAF final round group 5 winners 8 June 1997 4th 1994 2 Round of 16 (1986) 13RSA CAF final round group 3 winners 16 August 1997 1st — 1 — 24CMR CAF final round group 4 winners 17 August 1997 4th 1994 3 Quarter-finals (1990) 49ROU UEFA group 8 winners 18 August 1997 7th 1994 3 Quarter-finals (1994) 22NOR UEFA group 3 winners 6 September 1997 3rd 1994 2 *First round (1938, 1994) 7BUL UEFA group 5 winners 10 September 1997 7th 1994 2 Fourth place (1994) 35ARG CONMEBOL winners 10 September 1997 12th 1994 7 Winners (1978, 1986) 6COL CONMEBOL 3rd place 10 September 1997 4th 1994 3 Round of 16 (1990) 10PAR 1990 CONMEBOL 2nd place 10 September 1997 5th 1986 1 Round of 16 (1986) 29DEN UEFA group 1 winners 11 October 1997 2nd 1986 1 Round of 16 (1986) 27ENG UEFA group 2 winners 11 October 1997 10th 1990 1 Winners (1966) 5AUT UEFA group 4 winners 11 October 1997 7th 1990 1 Third place (1954) 31ESP UEFA group 6 winners 11 October 1997 10th 1994 6 Fourth place (1950) 15NED UEFA group 7 winners 11 October 1997 7th 1994 3 Runners-up (1974, 1978) 25GER UEFA group 9 winners 11 October 1997 14th 1994 12 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990) 2SCO UEFA group 4 runners-up 11 October 1997 8th 1990 1 Group stage (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990) 41MEX CONCACAF fourth round winners 12 October 1997 11th 1994 2 Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) 4KOR 1997 AFC final round group B winners 18 October 1997 5th 1994 4 Group stage (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994) 20USA CONCACAF fourth round 2nd place 9 November 1997 6th 1994 3 Third place (1930) 11KSA AFC final round group A winners 12 November 1997 2nd 1994 2 Round of 16 (1994) 34CRO UEFA play-off winners 15 November 1997 1st — 1 — 19ITA UEFA play-off winners 15 November 1997 14th 1994 10 Winners (1934, 1938, 1982) 14BEL UEFA play-off winners 15 November 1997 10th 1994 5 Fourth place (1986) 36Federal Republic of Yugoslavia UEFA play-off winners 15 November 1997 9th 1990 1 Fourth place (1930, 1962) 8JPN 1870 AFC play-off winners 16 November 1997 1st — 1 — 12JAM CONCACAF fourth round 3rd place 16 November 1997 1st — 1 — 30CHI CONMEBOL 4th place 16 November 1997 7th 1982 1 Third place (1962) 9IRN AFC v OFC play-off winners 29 November 1997 2nd 1978 1 Group stage (1978) 42 Norway was eliminated from the group stage of the 1994 World Cup, while they exited the 1938 tournament in the first round of what was then a pure knockout tournament. Qualification process The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was: AFC (Asia): 3 or 4 places CAF (Africa): 5 places CONCACAF (North America): 3 places CONMEBOL (South America): 4 places (+ Brazil qualified automatically as 1994 FIFA World Cup winners for a total of 5 places) OFC (Oceania): 0 or 1 place(s) UEFA (Europe): 14 places (+ France qualified automatically as host nation for a total of 15 places) Confederation qualification AFC 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) A total of 36 teams entered the competition. The Asian zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. There were three rounds of play: First round: The 36 teams were divided into 10 groups of 3 or 4 teams each. The teams played against each other twice, except in Group 10, where the teams played against each other once. The group winners would advance to the final round. Second round: The 10 teams were divided into 2 groups of 5 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The runners-up would advance to the AFC play-off. Third round: The two teams played against each other once in Malaysia. The winner would qualify. The loser would advance to the AFC–OFC intercontinental play-offs. Final positions (second round) LegendCountries that qualified for the 1998 World CupCountries that advanced to the third round 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round Group AGroup BTeamPldPtsKSA814IRN812CHN811QAT810KUW88TeamPldPtsKOR 1997819JPN 1870813UAE89UZB86KAZ86 Third round 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)#Third round Team 1ScoreTeam 2IRN2–3 (a.e.t.)JPN 1870 CAF 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) A total of 38 CAF teams entered the competition. However, Mali and Niger both withdrew before the draw was made. The African Zone was allocated five places (out of 32) in the final tournament. There would be two rounds of play: First round: Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt, the four highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the final round directly. The remaining 32 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the final round. Final round: The 20 teams were divided into five groups of four teams each. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. LegendCountries that qualified for the 1998 World Cup Final positions (final round) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)#Final round Group 1Group 2Group 3TeamPldPtsNGA613GUI612KEN610BFA60TeamPldPtsTUN 1959616EGY610LBR64NAM64TeamPldPtsRSA613CGO610ZAM68COD 199762Group 4Group 5TeamPldPtsCMR614ANG610ZIM64TOG64TeamPldPtsMAR616SLE57GHA66GAB51 CONCACAF 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) thumb|right|John Harkes playing for the United States in a fourth round qualifying match against Mexico on April 20, 1997 A total of 30 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Mexico, the US, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada, the six highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the third round directly. The remaining 24 teams were divided into two zones, based on geographical locations, as follows: Caribbean Zone: The 20 teams played in three rounds of knockout matches on a home-and-away basis to determine four winners advancing to the third round. Central American Zone: The four teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the third round. In the third round, the 12 teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. They played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners and runners-up would advance to the final round. In the final round, the six teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top three teams would qualify. LegendCountries that qualified for the 1998 World Cup Final positions (fourth round) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round TeamPldPtsMEX1018USA1017JAM1014CRC1012SLV1010CAN106 CONMEBOL 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Brazil, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition between 9 teams. The rules were very simple. The 9 teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top 4 teams would qualify. LegendCountries that qualified for the 1998 World Cup Final positions TeamPldPtsARG1630PAR 19901629COL1628CHI1625PER1625ECU 19001621URU1621BOL1617VEN 1930163 OFC 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) A total of 10 teams entered the competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. There were three rounds of play: First round: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tahiti, the four best ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the second round directly. The remaining 6 teams were divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each, namely the Melanesian Group and the Polynesian Group, based on geographical considerations. The teams played against each other once. The winner of the Melanesian Group would advance to the second round. The runner-up of the Melanesian Group and the winner of the Polynesian Group would advance to the first round play-off. In the play-off, they played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the second round. Second round: The 6 teams were divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other twice. The group winners would advance to the final round. Final round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the AFC / OFC intercontinental play-off. Final positions (third round) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)#Final round NZL 0–5 AUS 0–3 0–2 |} UEFA 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 15 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. France, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition between 49 teams. The 49 teams were divided into nine groups, four groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The runners-up would be ranked according to their records against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups, and the team with the best record would also qualify. The remaining runners-up would advance to the UEFA Play-offs. In the play-offs, the 8 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify. LegendCountries that qualified for the 1998 World CupCountries that advanced to the Play-offs Final positions (first round) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#First round auto Group 1 y n n 1em Group 2 y n n 1em Group 3 y n n auto Group 4 y n n 1em Group 5 y n n 1em Group 6 y n n auto Group 7 y n n 1em Group 8 y n n 1em Group 9 y n n Play-offs 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA play-off) CRO 3–1 UKR 1992 2–0 1–1 RUS 1–2 ITA 1–1 0–1 IRL 2–3 BEL 1–1 1–2 HUN 1–12 FR Yugoslavia 1–7 0–5 |} Inter-confederation play-offs: AFC v OFC 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off) It was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the losing team in the AFC play-off from the Asian qualifying tournament, Iran. The games were played on 22 and 29 November 1997 in Tehran and Melbourne respectively. Australia was hoping to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974 and Iran in 1978. The second game is known in Iran as the Saga of Melbourne. IRN 3–3 (a) AUS 1–1 2–2 Top goalscorers 19 goals IRN Karim Bagheri 14 goals JPN Kazuyoshi Miura SCG Predrag Mijatović 12 goals CHI Iván Zamorano 11 goals CHI Marcelo Salas MEX Carlos Hermosillo 6 goals SLV Raúl Díaz Arce IRN Ali Daei SCG Savo Milošević KOR Choi Yong-soo References External links FIFA World Cup official site - 1998 World Cup qualification https://web.archive.org/web/20070320044623/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/q/1998.html 2007-03-20 RSSSF - 1998 World Cup Qualification Qualification Category:FIFA World Cup qualification