1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
International football competition
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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.
Teams36 (from 1 confederation)
Top scorer(s)
Karim Bagheri
(19 goals)
Karim Bagheri (19 goals)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 36 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer(s) | Karim Bagheri (19 goals) |
← 1994 2002 → | |
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
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
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 |
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 |
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' |
Inter-confederation play-offs
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
Hidetoshi Nakata
Jasem Al Huwaidi
Ibrahim Al-Shahrani
Omar Al Ariki
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
Gao Feng
Rocky Putiray- Widodo Putro
- Hamid Estili
- Reza Shahroudi
Laith Hussein- Yutaka Akita
- Wagner Lopes
- Hiroshi Nanami
Boulat Esmagambetov- Vladimir Loginov
- Pavel Yevteyev
Sergey Kutsov
Ahmed Hassan
Mahmoud Soufi- Obeid Al-Dosari
- Fahad Al-Mehallel
Kim Do-hoon- Lee Sang-yoon
- Yoo Sang-chul
Nader Joukhadar- Khaled Al Zaher
Shukhrat Dzhaborov- Takhirdjon Mouminov
Mouslim Agaev
Zuhair Bakheet
- 2 goals
Mohammed Jewel Rana
Hok Sochetra- Li Bing
- Ma Mingyu
- Peng Weiguo
- Ansyari Lubis
- Ronny Wabia
- Mehrdad Minavand
- Ali Asghar Modir Roosta
- Sahib Abbas
- Qahtan Chathir
- Shoji Jo
- Hiroaki Morishima
- Masashi Nakayama
- Akinori Nishizawa
- Norio Omura
Jeris Tadrus- Alexei Klishin
- Nourken Mazbaev
- Fawaz Al Ahmad
- Hamed Al Saleh
- Farhat Haitbaev
- Aleksandr Merzlikin
Abdulfattah Shehab- Mahfood Sultan Al Araimi
- Saeed Shaaban Al Busaidy
- Majdi Shaaban Samir
Mohammad Umer- Zamel Al Kuwari
- Adel Khamis Al Noobi
- Fazli
- Choi Moon-sik
- Ha Seok-ju
- Seo Jung-won
Roshan Perera- Aref Al Agha
- Tarek Jabban
- Oumed Alidodov
- Viacheslav Knizaev
Natipong Sritong-In- Adnan Al Talyani
- Adel Mohamed Abdulla
Numon Khasanov- Sergey Lebedev
- Shukhrat Maksudov
- Abdukahhor Marifaliev
- Nikolai Shirshov
- 1 goal
Khaled Al-Doseri- Hameed Darwish
- Faisal Aziz Rashed
- Mohammed Alfaz Ahmed
- Ahmed Imtiaz
- Li Jinyu
- Li Ming
- Mao Yijun
- Su Maozhen
- Zhang Enhua
Chen Kuei-jen- Hsu Te Ming
- Huang Che-ming
- Lin Wen Han
Au Wai Lun- Cheng Sin Siu
- Lee Kin Woo
Carlton Chapman- Bruno Coutinho
- Raman Vijayan
- Sudirman
- Farhad Majidi
- Ali Mousavi
- Haidar Abdullah
- Ahmed Radhi
- Sadiq Saadoun
- Yasuto Honda
- Masami Ihara
- Masayuki Okano
- Naoki Soma
- Motohiro Yamaguchi
- Basam Al-Khateeb
- Hassouneh Al-Sheikh
- Ruslan Baltiyev
- Vitali Sparyshev
- Valeri Yablochkin
- Dmitri Yurist
- Faisal Al Otaibi
- Hani Al Saqer
- Jamal Mubarak
- Abdullah Saihan
- Vladimir Chertkov
- Sergei Ivanov
- Alexandr Korzanov
- Kanat Sardarov
- Rafik Yusupov
- Babkin Melikian
- Wael Nazha
Che Chi Man- Cheang Chon Man
- José Maria da Cruz Martins
Idris Abdul Karim- Azman Adnan
- Ahmad Che Zambil
- Rosdee Sulong
- Zainal Abidin Hassan
Deepak Amatya- Hari Khadka
- Mohamed Tayib Abdul Noor
- Farid Al Masori
- Nabeel Mubar Al Siyabi
- Zahir Rafiq
- Dahi Al Naemi
- Abdul Jaloof
- Nasir Khamees
- Waleed Bakhit Maayof
- Abdulaziz Al-Dosari
- Abdullah Al-Dosari
- Sami Al-Jaber
- Khalid Al-Temawi
- Yousuf Al-Thunayan
- Khamis Al-Zahrani
Chuan Tan Teng- Zulkarnaen Zainal
- Ko Jeong-woon
- Lee Min-sung
- Park Kun-ha
- Roh Sang-rae
- Anton Silva
- Chaminda Steinwall
- Redwan Abrash
- Ali Cheikh Dib
- Abdel Kader Rifai
- Ammar Rihawi
- Bashar Srour
- Loay Taleb
- Alier Achourmamadov
- Dusit Chalermsan
- Krissada Piandit
- Piyapong Pue-on
- Redjeb Agabaev
- Valeri Broshin
- Valeri Gulyan
- Djumadurdy Meredov
- Georgi Tkavadze
- Bakhit Alabadla
- Gholam Ali
- Hassan Mubarak
- Mohamed Obaid
- Ahmed Saeed
- Jafar Irismetov
- Bahtior Kambaraliev
- Mirdjalal Kasimov
Lê Huỳnh Đức- Nguyễn Công Vinh
- Abdul Rahman Abdulla
- Jeyeb Bashafal
- Esam Dariban
- Munif Shaef Noman
- Mohammed Zughair
- 1 own goal
- Sadiq Saadoun (playing against Kazakhstan)
- Raju Kaji Shakya (playing against Oman)