1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
International football competition
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The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, CONCACAF zone ran from March 1996 to November 1997 in order to determine the three CONCACAF representatives at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 24th 1996 – November 16th 1997 |
| Teams | 28[a] (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 98 |
| Goals scored | 295 (3.01 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,065,454 (21,076 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Carlos Hermosillo(11 Goals) |
← 1994 2002 → | |
A total of 30 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Mexico, the USA, 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.
Format
- 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. Bahamas and Bermuda withdrew before playing one game. 18 countries stay in the race.
- 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.
Preliminary round
- Group A
Dominican Republic  | 3–2 |  Aruba |
|---|---|---|
Rodríguez  28'Mariano 50'Peña 73' |
Report | Davelaar 60' Malmberg 84' |
Dominican Republic won 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
- Group B
Grenada won 8–1 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
- Group C
The Bahamas withdrew, so Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the first round automatically.
- Group D
Antigua and Barbuda  | 1–3 |  Dominica |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards 59' |
Report | Greenaway 23' Morancie 60'Edmond 66' |
Dominica won 6–4 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic |
2–1 |  Netherlands Antilles |
2–1 | 0–0 |
Haiti  |
7–1 |  Grenada |
6–1 | 1–0 |
Cayman Islands  |
0–6 |  Cuba |
0–1 | 0–5 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis  |
6–1 |  Saint Lucia |
5–1 | 1–0 |
Puerto Rico  |
1–9 |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
1–2 | 0–7 |
| Dominica |
0–2 |  Barbados |
0–1 | 0–1 |
Suriname  |
0–2 |  Jamaica |
0–1 | 0–1 |
Trinidad and Tobago  |
w/o |  Bermuda |
— | — |
- Group 1
| Dominican Republic | 2–1 | Netherlands Antilles |
|---|---|---|
| Jiménez 35' Zapata 68' |
Report | Gersley 40' |
Dominican Republic won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 2
Haiti won 7–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 3
| Cayman Islands | 0–1 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Darcourt 10' |
Cuba won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 4
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 5–1 | Saint Lucia |
|---|---|---|
| Kelley 5', 86' Sargeant 22', 44' Gumbs 41' |
Report | Jean 51' |
| Saint Lucia | 0–1 | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kelley 50' |
Saint Kitts and Nevis won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 5
| Puerto Rico | 1–2 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|---|---|---|
| Lugris 70' (pen.) |
Report | Huggins 18' Hinds 58' |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 7–0 | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
| Jack 3', 13', 25' Mussenden 35' (o.g.)Hinds 37', 59'Charles 64' |
Report |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won 9-1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 6
Barbados won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 7
Jamaica won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
- Group 8
Bermuda withdrew, so Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the second round automatically.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean Zone | |||||
| Cuba |
7–2 | Haiti |
6–1 | 1–1 | |
| Dominican Republic |
1–12 | Trinidad and Tobago |
1–4 | 0–8 | |
| Barbados |
0–3 | Jamaica |
0–1 | 0–2 | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis |
2–2 (a) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
2–2 | 0–0 | |
| Central American Zone | |||||
Nicaragua  |
1–3 |  Guatemala |
0–1 | 1–2 | |
Belize  |
2–6 |  Panama |
1–2 | 1–4 | |
Caribbean Zone
- Group A
Cuba won 7–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.
- Group B
| Dominican Republic | 1–4 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Jiménez 59' |
Report | Latapy 37', 67' Aquino 39' (o.g.) Eve 84' |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 8–0 | Dominican Republic |
|---|---|---|
| John 1', 23', 80' Yorke 8' Eve 16', 42' Rougier 19' Latapy 89' |
Report |
Trinidad and Tobago won 12–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.
- Group C
Jamaica won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.
- Group D
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2–2 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|---|---|---|
| Gumbs 38' Bedford 88' |
Report | Hinds 12' Velox 35' |
2–2 on aggregate. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won on the away goals rule and advanced to the third round.
Central American Zone
- Group E
Guatemala won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.
- Group F
| Panama | 4–1 |  Belize |
|---|---|---|
| Dely Valdés 14', 46', 61' Mendieta 88' |
Report | Casey 60' |
Panama won 6-2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.
Third round
Fourth round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
 |
|
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 7 | +16 | 18 | Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup | — | 0–0 | 6–0 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | United States |
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 17 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Jamaica |
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 14 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Costa Rica |
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 12 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | El Salvador |
10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 10 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | ||
| 6 | Canada |
10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 20 | −15 | 6 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Qualified teams
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Fourth round winners | 12 October 1997 | 10 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994) |
| United States | Fourth round runners-up | 9 November 1997 | 5 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994) |
| Jamaica | Fourth round third place | 16 November 1997 | 0 (debut) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 295 goals scored in 98 matches, for an average of 3.01 goals per match.
11 goals
9 goals
8 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
Rónald Gómez
Eduardo Sebrango
Isaac Chauvet
Deon Burton
Andre Hinds- Rodney Jack
Angus Eve
Brian McBride
3 goals
Derrick Edwards
Paul Peschisolido- Hernan Medford
- Lester Moré
Nildeson
Keith Fletcher- Golman Pierre
- Paul Young
Dwight Allers Kelley- Stern John
- Russell Latapy
- Roy Lassiter
2 goals
Raymond Davelaar- Carlo Corazzin
Alberto Jiménez- Dinardo Rodríguez
- Mauricio Cienfuegos
- William Renderos
- Guillermo Rivera
- Ricky Charles
- Jason François
Julio Rodas
Eduardo Bennett- Milton Núñez
- Carlos Pavón
- Enrique Reneau
- Christian Santamaria
- Andy Williams
Luis García- Luis Hernández
- Ricardo Peláez
Rubén Guevara- Víctor René Mendieta
- Keith Gumbs
- Vernon Sargeant
- Kendall Velox
- Jerren Nixon
- Eddie Pope
- Preki
- Roy Wegerle
1 goal
- Quentin Clarke
- Ryan Malmberg
Gregory Goodridge- Roger Proverbs
Denmark Casey- David McCaulay
- Geoff Aunger
- Eddy Berdusco
- Nick Dasovic
- Carl Fletcher
- Mark Watson
- Luis Diego Arnáez
- Javier Delgado
- Farlen Ilama
- Wílmer López
- Luis Marín
- Allan Oviedo
- Richard Smith
- Mauricio Solís
- Jafet Soto
- Manuel Bobadilla
- Armando Cruz
- Alexander Cruzata
- Mario Pedraza
George Dangler- Anthony Dominique
- Jeffrey Edmond
- Peter Greenaway
- Shane Marshall
- Stevenson Morancie
- Pedro Aquino
- Ramón Mariano
- Nelson Peña
- Cristian Queliz
- Omar Zapata
- Waldir Guerra
- Wilfredo Iraheta
- Elías Montes
- Jorge Rodríguez
- Giovanni Trigueros
- Patrick Modeste
- Otis Roberts
- Juan Manuel Funes
- Rudy Ramírez
Bryan Joseph- Wilson Chevalier
- Rosemond Pierre
- Arnold Cruz
- Merlyn Membreño
- Barrios Zapata
- Peter Cargill
- Paul Davis
- Ian Goodison
- Paul Hall
- Stephen Malcolm
- Enrique Alfaro
- Damián Ariel Álvarez
- Paulo César Chávez
- Joaquín del Olmo
- Alberto García
- Ramón Ramírez
Gijsberta Gersley
Ezequiel Jerez- Juan Carlos Cubillas
Marcos Lugris- Larrymore Bedford
Earl Jean- Wesley Charles
- James Chewitt
- Alwyn Guy
- Christopher Harry
- Marlos Huggins
- Everad Sam
- Anthony Rougier
- Dwight Yorke
- Thomas Dooley
- Frankie Hejduk
- Chris Henderson
- Cobi Jones
- Joe-Max Moore
- Tab Ramos
- Claudio Reyna
- Earnie Stewart
1 own goal
- Pedro Aquino (against Trinidad and Tobago)
- Nicolás Ramírez (against the United States)
- Angel Mussenden (against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Dexter Walker (against Mexico)