1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Teams36 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Top scorer(s) Karim Bagheri
(19 goals)
← 1994
2002 →
AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup

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.

Format

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 advanced to the second 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 qualified for the World Cup. The runners-up advanced to the third round.
  • Third round: The two teams played against each other once in Malaysia. The winner qualify for the World Cup. The loser advanced to the AFC–OFC intercontinental play-offs.

First round

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 6 5 1 0 18 1 +17 16 Second round
2  Malaysia 6 3 2 1 5 3 +2 11
3  Chinese Taipei 6 1 1 4 4 13 −9 4
4  Bangladesh 6 1 0 5 4 14 −10 3
Source: RSSSF

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iran 6 5 1 0 39 3 +36 16 Second round
2  Syria 6 3 1 2 30 5 +25 10
3  Kyrgyzstan 6 3 0 3 12 14 −2 9
4  Maldives 6 0 0 6 0 59 −59 0
Source: RSSSF

Group 3

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United Arab Emirates 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6 10 Second round
2  Jordan 4 1 1 2 4 4 0 4
3  Bahrain 4 1 0 3 3 9 −6 3
Source: RSSSF

Group 4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Japan 6 5 1 0 31 1 +30 16 Second round
2  Oman 6 4 1 1 14 2 +12 13
3  Macau 6 1 1 4 3 28 −25 4
4    Nepal 6 0 1 5 2 19 −17 1
Source: RSSSF

Group 5

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uzbekistan 6 5 1 0 20 3 +17 16 Second round
2  Yemen 6 2 2 2 10 7 +3 8
3  Indonesia 6 1 4 1 11 6 +5 7
4  Cambodia 6 0 1 5 2 27 −25 1
Source: RSSSF

Group 6

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 4 3 1 0 9 1 +8 10 Second round
2  Thailand 4 1 1 2 5 6 −1 4
3  Hong Kong 4 1 0 3 3 10 −7 3
Source: RSSSF

Group 7

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Kuwait 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 12 Second round
2  Lebanon 4 1 1 2 4 7 −3 4
3  Singapore 4 0 1 3 2 8 −6 1
Source: RSSSF

Group 8

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  China 6 5 1 0 13 2 +11 16 Second round
2  Tajikistan 6 4 1 1 15 2 +13 13
3  Turkmenistan 6 2 0 4 8 13 −5 6
4  Vietnam 6 0 0 6 2 21 −19 0
Source: RSSSF

Group 9

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Kazakhstan 4 4 0 0 15 2 +13 12 Second round
2  Iraq 4 2 0 2 14 8 +6 6
3  Pakistan 4 0 0 4 3 22 −19 0
Source: RSSSF

Group 10

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar 3 3 0 0 14 0 +14 9 Second round
2  Sri Lanka 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3  India 3 1 1 1 3 7 −4 4
4  Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0
Source: RSSSF

Second round

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Saudi Arabia 8 4 2 2 8 6 +2 14 1998 FIFA World Cup
2  Iran 8 3 3 2 13 8 +5 12 Third round
3  China 8 3 2 3 11 14 −3 11
4  Qatar 8 3 1 4 7 10 −3 10
5  Kuwait 8 2 2 4 7 8 −1 8
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: RSSSF

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 8 6 1 1 19 7 +12 19 1998 FIFA World Cup
2  Japan 8 3 4 1 17 9 +8 13 Third round
3  United Arab Emirates 8 2 3 3 9 12 −3 9
4  Uzbekistan 8 1 3 4 13 18 −5 6
5  Kazakhstan 8 1 3 4 7 19 −12 6
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: RSSSF

Third round

  • The third round (play-off) was played over a single leg at a neutral venue.
  • Extra time was played using the golden goal rule.
Iran 2–3 (a.e.t.) Japan
Azizi 46'
Daei 58'		 report (FIFA)
report (Japanese)		 Nakayama 39'
Jo 75'
Okano 118'
Attendance: 22,000

Inter-confederation play-offs

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Iran  3–3 (a)  Australia 1–1 2–2

3–3 on aggregate, Iran won on away goals

Qualified teams

The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 Saudi Arabia Final round group A winners 12 November 1997 1 (1994)
 South Korea Final round group B winners 18 October 1997 4 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994)
 Japan Play-off winners 16 November 1997 0 (debut)
 Iran AFC–OFC play-off winners 29 November 1997 1 (1978)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

There were 459 goals scored in 132 matches (including 2 international play-offs), for an average of 3.53 goals per match.

19 goals
14 goals
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Notes

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