1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian zone (AFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1998 FIFA World Cup qualification".

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.
*Final 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.
*Play-off: The 2 teams played against each other once in Malaysia. The winner would qualify. The loser would advance to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-offs.

First Round

Group 1

March 16, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|TPE 0 - 2 fb-rt|KSA

March 16, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|MAS 2 - 0 fb-rt|BAN

March 18, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|BAN 1 - 3 fb-rt|TPE

March 18, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|MAS 0 - 0 fb-rt|KSA

March 20, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|BAN 1 - 4 fb-rt|KSA

March 20, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - fb|MAS 2 - 0 fb-rt|TPE

March 27, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|TPE 0 - 0 fb-rt|MAS

March 27, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|KSA 3 - 0 fb-rt|BAN

March 29, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|KSA 3 - 0 fb-rt|MAS

March 29, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|TPE 1 - 2 fb-rt|BAN

March 31, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|BAN 0 - 1 fb-rt|MAS

March 31, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - fb|KSA 6 - 0 fb-rt|TPE

"United Arab Emirates" advanced to the Final Round.

Group 4

March 23, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|NEP 1 - 1 fb-rt|MAC|colonial

March 23, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|OMA 0 - 1 fb-rt|JPN

March 25, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|MAC|colonial 0 - 10 fb-rt|JPN

March 25, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|OMA 1 - 0 fb-rt|NEP

March 27, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|NEP 0 - 6 fb-rt|JPN

March 27, 1997, Muscat, Oman - fb|OMA 4 - 0 fb-rt|MAC|colonial

June 22, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|JPN 10 - 0 fb-rt|MAC|colonial

June 22, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|NEP 0 - 6 fb-rt|OMA

June 25, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|JPN 3 - 0 fb-rt|NEP

June 25, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|MAC|colonial 0 - 2 fb-rt|OMA

June 28, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|JPN 1 - 1 fb-rt|OMA

June 28, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - fb|MAC|colonial 2 - 1 fb-rt|NEP

"Korea Republic" advanced to the Final Round.

Group 7

April 13, 1997, Beirut, Lebanon - fb|LIB 1 - 1 fb-rt|SIN

April 26, 1997, Singapore - fb|SIN 0 - 1 fb-rt|KUW

May 8, 1997, Kuwait City, Kuwait - fb|KUW 2 - 0 fb-rt|LIB

May 24, 1997, Singapore - fb|SIN 1 - 2 fb-rt|LIB

June 5, 1997, Kuwait City, Kuwait - fb|KUW 4 - 0 fb-rt|SIN

June 22, 1997, Beirut, Lebanon - fb|LIB 1 - 3 fb-rt|KUW

"Kazakhstan" advanced to the Final Round.

Group 10

September 20, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|QAT 3 - 0 fb-rt|SRI

September 21, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|IND 2 - 0 fb-rt|PHI

September 23, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|QAT 5 - 0 fb-rt|PHI

September 24, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|SRI 1 - 1 fb-rt|IND

September 26, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|PHI 0 - 3 fb-rt|SRI

September 27, 1996, Doha, Qatar - fb|QAT 6 - 0 fb-rt|IND

Korea Republic qualified. "Japan" advanced to the AFC Play-off.

Play-off

November 16, 1997, Johor Bahru, Malaysia - fb|IRN 2 - 3 (aet) fb-rt|JPN

Japan qualified. "Iran" advanced to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.

ee also

*1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
*1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
*1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
*1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
*1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)