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.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Teams ...
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Tournament details
Teams36 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Top scorer(s)Iran Karim Bagheri
(19 goals)
1994
2002
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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 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 qualified for the World Cup. The runners-up advanced to the AFC play-off.
  • Play-off: 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

More information Key to colours in group tables ...
Key to colours in group tables
Group winners qualify for the Final round
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Group 1

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Saudi Arabia 6 5 1 0 18 1 +17 16
 Malaysia 6 3 2 1 5 3 +2 11
 Chinese Taipei 6 1 1 4 4 13 9 4
 Bangladesh 6 1 0 5 4 14 10 3
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Source: RSSSF

Group 2

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Iran 6 5 1 0 39 3 +36 16
 Syria 6 3 1 2 30 5 +25 10
 Kyrgyzstan 6 3 0 3 12 14 2 9
 Maldives 6 0 0 6 0 59 59 0
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Source: RSSSF

Group 3

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United Arab Emirates 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6 10
 Jordan 4 1 1 2 4 4 0 4
 Bahrain 4 1 0 3 3 9 6 3
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Source: RSSSF

Group 4

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Japan 6 5 1 0 31 1 +30 16
 Oman 6 4 1 1 14 2 +12 13
 Macau 6 1 1 4 3 28 25 4
   Nepal 6 0 1 5 2 19 17 1
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Source: RSSSF

Group 5

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Uzbekistan 6 5 1 0 20 3 +17 16
 Yemen 6 2 2 2 10 7 +3 8
 Indonesia 6 1 4 1 11 6 +5 7
 Cambodia 6 0 1 5 2 27 25 1
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Source: RSSSF

Group 6

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Korea 4 3 1 0 9 1 +8 10
 Thailand 4 1 1 2 5 6 1 4
 Hong Kong 4 1 0 3 3 10 7 3
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Source: RSSSF

Group 7

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Kuwait 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 12
 Lebanon 4 1 1 2 4 7 3 4
 Singapore 4 0 1 3 2 8 6 1
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Source: RSSSF

Group 8

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 China 6 5 1 0 13 2 +11 16
 Tajikistan 6 4 1 1 15 2 +13 13
 Turkmenistan 6 2 0 4 8 13 5 6
 Vietnam 6 0 0 6 2 21 19 0
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Source: RSSSF

Group 9

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Kazakhstan 4 4 0 0 15 2 +13 12
 Iraq 4 2 0 2 14 8 +6 6
 Pakistan 4 0 0 4 3 22 19 0
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Source: RSSSF

Group 10

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Qatar 3 3 0 0 14 0 +14 9
 Sri Lanka 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
 India 3 1 1 1 3 7 4 4
 Philippines 3 0 0 3 0 10 10 0
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Source: RSSSF

Final round

More information Key to colours in group tables ...
Key to colours in group tables
Group winners qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup
Runners-up advance to the AFC play off
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Group A

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Saudi Arabia 8 4 2 2 8 6 +2 14
 Iran 8 3 3 2 13 8 +5 12
 China 8 3 2 3 11 14 3 11
 Qatar 8 3 1 4 7 10 3 10
 Kuwait 8 2 2 4 7 8 1 8
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Source: RSSSF
More information China, 2–4 ...
China 2–4 Iran
Fan Zhiyi 44' (pen.)
Li Ming 54'
(report) Bagheri 61' (pen.)
Mahdavikia 67', 73'
Roosta 86'
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Attendance: 31,000
Referee: Park Hae Yong (South Korea)

More information Saudi Arabia, 2–1 ...
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More information Iran, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 120,000
More information Qatar, 0–2 ...
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Attendance: 10,000

More information Qatar, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Mahmoud Nurilddin (Iraq)
More information Kuwait, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Jimdamai Russamee (Thailand)

More information China, 1–0 ...
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Attendance: 30,000
More information Iran, 3–0 ...
Iran 3–0 Qatar
Daei 31'
Bagheri 42', 56'
(report)
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Attendance: 70,000
Referee: Sidi Magassa (Mali)

More information Kuwait, 1–2 ...
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Attendance: 25,000

More information Saudi Arabia, 1–0 ...
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More information Kuwait, 2–1 ...
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Attendance: 15,000
More information Iran, 4–1 ...
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Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Ahmad Nabil Ayad (Lebanon)

More information Saudi Arabia, 1–0 ...
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More information Kuwait, 0–1 ...
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Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Nazri Abdullah Mohamed (Malaysia)

More information China, 2–3 ...
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Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Santhan Nagalingam (Singapore)
More information Iran, 0–0 ...
Iran 0–0 Kuwait
(report)
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Attendance: 100,000

More information Saudi Arabia, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 70,000

More information Qatar, 2–0 ...
Qatar 2–0 Iran
Al-Enazi 38', 81' (report)
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More information China, 1–0 ...
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More information Qatar, 0–1 ...
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Group B

More information Team, Pld ...
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Korea 8 6 1 1 19 7 +12 19
 Japan 8 3 4 1 17 9 +8 13
 United Arab Emirates 8 2 3 3 9 12 3 9
 Uzbekistan 8 1 3 4 13 18 5 6
 Kazakhstan 8 1 3 4 7 19 12 6
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Source: RSSSF
More information South Korea, 3–0 ...
South Korea 3–0 Kazakhstan
Choi Yong-soo 24', 67', 74' Report
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Attendance: 41,219
Referee: Santhan Nagalingam (Singapore)

More information Japan, 6–3 ...
Japan 6–3 Uzbekistan
Miura 4' (pen.), 40', 64', 80'
Nakata 40'
Jo 44'
Report Shatskikh 56', 77'
Fyodorov 69' (pen.)
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More information South Korea, 2–1 ...
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Attendance: 70,000
Referee: Wei Jihong (China)
More information United Arab Emirates, 4–0 ...
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More information United Arab Emirates, 0–0 ...
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Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Nazri Abdullah Mohamed (Malaysia)

More information Kazakhstan, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Ahmad Nabil Ayad (Lebanon)

More information Uzbekistan, 2–3 ...
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Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Jalal Moradi (Iran)

More information Japan, 1–2 ...
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Attendance: 56,704
Referee: Saad Mane (Kuwait)

More information South Korea, 3–0 ...
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More information Kazakhstan, 1–1 ...
Kazakhstan 1–1 Japan
Zubarev 90+2' Report Akita 23'
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Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Taj Addin Fares (Syria)

More information Uzbekistan, 1–1 ...
Uzbekistan 1–1 Japan
Kambaraliev 30' Report Lopes 89'
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Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Sultan Mujalli Al Aalaq (Bahrain)
More information Kazakhstan, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Omar Abu Loom (Jordan)

More information Uzbekistan, 1–5 ...
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Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Abdul Khudheir Abdul Hussein (Iraq)
More information Kazakhstan, 3–0 ...
Kazakhstan 3–0 United Arab Emirates
Sparyshev 55'
Yevteyev 64'
Yurist 75'
Report
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Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Nik Ahmad Haji Yaakub (Malaysia)

More information Uzbekistan, 4–0 ...
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Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Hassan Al Ajmi (Oman)

More information Japan, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 56,000

More information South Korea, 0–2 ...
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More information United Arab Emirates, 0–0 ...
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Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Khaled Dalu (Syria)

More information Japan, 5–1 ...
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More information United Arab Emirates, 1–3 ...
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Play-off

  • The play-off was played over a single leg at a neutral venue.
  • Extra time was played using the golden goal rule.
More information Iran, 2–3 (a.e.t.) ...
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Inter-confederation play-offs

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Iran  3–3 (a)  Australia 1–1 2–2
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Qualified teams

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

More information Team, Qualified as ...
Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 Saudi ArabiaFinal Round Group A winners12 November 19971 (1994)
 South KoreaFinal Round Group B winners18 October 19974 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994)
 JapanPlay-off winners16 November 19970 (debut)
 IranAFC–OFC play-off winners29 November 19971 (1978)
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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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