1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

A total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals. fb|FRA, as the hosts, and fb|BRA, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 30 spots open for competition.

The 32 spots available in the 1998 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
* Europe (UEFA): "15 places", 1 of them went to automatic qualifier France, while the other 14 places were contested by 49 teams.
* South America (CONMEBOL): "5 places", 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Brazil, while the other 4 places were contested by 9 teams.
* North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): "3 places", contested by 30 teams.
* Africa (CAF): "5 places", contested by 38 teams.
* Asia (AFC): "3.5 places", contested by 36 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from OFC).
* Oceania (OFC): "0.5 place", contested by 10 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from AFC).

A total of 168 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 643 qualifying matches were played, and 1992 goals were scored (an average of 2.99 per match).

Continental zones

To see the dates and results of the qualification rounds for each continental zone, click on the following articles:
*Europe (UEFA):Group 1 - Denmark qualified. "Croatia" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 2 - England qualified. "Italy" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 3 - Norway qualified. "Hungary" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 4 - Austria qualified. Scotland also qualified with the best record among the runners-up.:Group 5 - Bulgaria qualified. "Russia" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 6 - Spain qualified. "Yugoslavia" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 7 - Netherlands qualified. "Belgium" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 8 - Romania qualified. "Republic of Ireland" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Group 9 - Germany qualified. "Ukraine" advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.:Play-offs - Croatia, Italy, Belgium and Yugoslavia qualified over Ukraine, Russia, Republic of Ireland and Hungary respectively.
*South America (CONMEBOL):Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Chile qualified.
*North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF):Mexico, USA and Jamaica qualified.
*Africa (CAF):Group 1 - Nigeria qualified.:Group 2 - Tunisia qualified.:Group 3 - South Africa qualified.:Group 4 - Cameroon qualified.:Group 5 - Morocco qualified.
*Asia (AFC):Group A - Saudi Arabia qualified. "Iran" advanced to the AFC Play-off.:Group B - Korea Republic qualified. "Japan" advanced to the AFC Play-off.:Play-off - Japan qualified. "Iran" advanced to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.
*Oceania (OFC):"Australia" advanced to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.

Intercontinental Play-offs

The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

1998 FIFA World Cup AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-off

November 22, 1997, Tehran, Iran - fb|IRN 1 - 1 fb-rt|AUS

November 29, 1997, Melbourne, Australia - fb|AUS 2 - 2 fb-rt|IRN

The aggregate score was tied 3-3, and Iran qualified due to the away goals rule.

Qualified teams

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

¹Includes 10 appearances by "DFB" representing West Germany between 1954 and 1990.

²Excludes appearances by pre-division Yugoslavia. If those are counted together, this is their 9th appearance, and their previous appearance was in 1990.

Notes

*For the first time, the South American qualifiers were held in a single group.
*Australia had a 2-0 lead against Iran in the second leg of their play-off against Iran, but conceded two late goals and was denied a place in the finals. The result meant that Australia went undefeated in qualifying but still miss out on qualification.

External links

* [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/q/1998.html FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1998 World Cup Qualification]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tables/98q.html RSSSF - 1998 World Cup Qualification]