1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Dates24 April 1996 – 15 November 1997
← 1994
2002 →
Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
UEFA European Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA).

A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition; Andorra, which joined FIFA and UEFA in November 1996 while the qualifiers were underway, could not enter. The European zone was allocated 15 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. France, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition between 49 teams.

The 49 teams were divided into nine groups, four groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The runners-up would be ranked according to their records against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups, and the team with the best record would also qualify. The other runners-up would advance to the UEFA Play-offs.

In the play-offs, the 8 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify.

First round[edit]

First round was group play. The draw was made on 12 December 1995, and was based on the November 1995 FIFA World Rankings.[1][2]

Seeding[edit]

The teams were divided into five pools as shown in table below (November 1995 rankings shown in brackets).

Pot 1
Team Rank
 Germany 2
 Spain 3
 Italy 4
 Russia 5
 Norway 6
 Denmark 8
 Netherlands 10
 Sweden 11
 Romania 12
Pot 2
Team Rank
 Bulgaria 14
  Switzerland 15
 Portugal 16
 Czech Republic 18
 England 20
 Republic of Ireland 21
 Scotland 25
 Belgium 26
 Greece 29
Pot 3
Team Rank
 Turkey 31
 Poland 33
 Slovakia 35
 Austria 38
 Croatia 39
 Israel 40
 Finland 41
 Lithuania 45
 Northern Ireland 46
Pot 4
Team Rank
 Iceland 48
 Latvia 54
 Wales 57
 Hungary 60
 Cyprus 70
 Ukraine 71
 Slovenia 75
 Georgia 77
 Yugoslavia 80
Pot 5
Team Rank
 Albania 87
 Belarus 88
 Malta 89
 Macedonia 90
 Luxembourg 98
 Moldova 107
 Armenia 112
 Faroe Islands 116
 Estonia 126
 Azerbaijan 136
 San Marino 142
 Liechtenstein 151
 Bosnia and Herzegovina NR

Summary[edit]

  Winner of each group and the best runner-up qualified directly for the 1998 FIFA World Cup
  The remaining runners-up advanced to the second round (play-offs)
  Other teams were eliminated after the first round
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9

Denmark
England
Norway
Austria
Bulgaria
Spain
Netherlands
Romania
Germany

Croatia
Italy
Hungary
Scotland
Russia
Yugoslavia
Belgium
Republic of Ireland
Ukraine

Greece

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Slovenia
Poland

Georgia

Moldova
Finland

Switzerland

Azerbaijan
Sweden

Latvia

Estonia

Belarus
Israel

Cyprus

Luxembourg
Czech Republic

Slovakia

Faroe Islands

Malta
Turkey

Wales

San Marino
Lithuania

Macedonia

Iceland

Liechtenstein
Portugal

Armenia

Northern Ireland

Albania

Group 1[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 8 5 2 1 14 6 +8 17 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 3–1 2–1 2–0 4–0
2  Croatia 8 4 3 1 17 12 +5 15 Advance to second round 1–1 — 1–1 3–2 3–3
3  Greece 8 4 2 2 11 4 +7 14 0–0 0–1 — 3–0 2–0
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 3 0 5 9 14 −5 9 3–0 1–4 0–1 — 1–0
5  Slovenia 8 0 1 7 5 20 −15 1 0–2 1–3 0–3 1–2 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 2[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 8 6 1 1 15 2 +13 19 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 0–1 2–1 2–0 4–0
2  Italy 8 5 3 0 11 1 +10 18 Advance to second round 0–0 — 3–0 1–0 3–0
3  Poland 8 3 1 4 10 12 −2 10 0–2 0–0 — 4–1 2–1
4  Georgia 8 3 1 4 7 9 −2 10 0–2 0–0 3–0 — 2–0
5  Moldova 8 0 0 8 2 21 −19 0 0–3 1–3 0–3 0–1 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 3[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Norway 8 6 2 0 21 2 +19 20 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 3–0 1–1 5–0 5–0
2  Hungary 8 3 3 2 10 8 +2 12 Advance to second round 1–1 — 1–0 1–1 3–1
3  Finland 8 3 2 3 11 12 −1 11 0–4 1–1 — 2–3 3–0
4   Switzerland 8 3 1 4 11 12 −1 10 0–1 1–0 1–2 — 5–0
5  Azerbaijan 8 1 0 7 3 22 −19 3 0–1 0–3 1–2 1–0 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 4[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Austria 10 8 1 1 17 4 +13 25 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 4–0
2  Scotland 10 7 2 1 15 3 +12 23 2–0 — 1–0 2–0 2–0 4–1
3  Sweden 10 7 0 3 16 9 +7 21 0–1 2–1 — 1–0 1–0 5–1
4  Latvia 10 3 1 6 10 14 −4 10 1–3 0–2 1–2 — 1–0 2–0
5  Estonia 10 1 1 8 4 16 −12 4 0–3 0–0 2–3 1–3 — 1–0
6  Belarus 10 1 1 8 5 21 −16 4 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 5[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bulgaria 8 6 0 2 18 9 +9 18 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 4–1 4–0
2  Russia 8 5 2 1 19 5 +14 17 Advance to second round 4–2 — 2–0 4–0 3–0
3  Israel 8 4 1 3 9 7 +2 13 2–1 1–1 — 2–0 1–0
4  Cyprus 8 3 1 4 10 15 −5 10 1–3 1–1 2–0 — 2–0
5  Luxembourg 8 0 0 8 2 22 −20 0 1–2 0–4 0–3 1–3 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 6[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 10 8 2 0 26 6 +20 26 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 1–0 4–1 3–1 4–0
2  Yugoslavia 10 7 2 1 29 7 +22 23 Advance to second round 1–1 — 1–0 2–0 3–1 6–0
3  Czech Republic 10 5 1 4 16 6 +10 16 0–0 1–2 — 3–0 2–0 6–0
4  Slovakia 10 5 1 4 18 14 +4 16 1–2 1–1 2–1 — 3–0 6–0
5  Faroe Islands 10 2 0 8 10 31 −21 6 2–6 1–8 0–2 1–2 — 2–1
6  Malta 10 0 0 10 2 37 −35 0 0–3 0–5 0–1 0–2 1–2 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 7[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 8 6 1 1 26 4 +22 19 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 3–1 0–0 7–1 4–0
2  Belgium 8 6 0 2 20 11 +9 18 Advance to second round 0–3 — 2–1 3–2 6–0
3  Turkey 8 4 2 2 21 9 +12 14 1–0 1–3 — 6–4 7–0
4  Wales 8 2 1 5 20 21 −1 7 1–3 1–2 0–0 — 6–0
5  San Marino 8 0 0 8 0 42 −42 0 0–6 0–3 0–5 0–5 —
Source: [citation needed]

Group 8[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Romania 10 9 1 0 37 4 +33 28 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 3–0 4–2 4–0 8–0
2  Republic of Ireland 10 5 3 2 22 8 +14 18 Advance to second round 1–1 — 0–0 3–0 0–0 5–0
3  Lithuania 10 5 2 3 11 8 +3 17 0–1 1–2 — 2–0 2–0 2–1
4  Macedonia 10 4 1 5 22 18 +4 13 0–3 3–2 1–2 — 1–0 3–0
5  Iceland 10 2 3 5 11 16 −5 9 0–4 2–4 0–0 1–1 — 4–0
6  Liechtenstein 10 0 0 10 3 52 −49 0 1–8 0–5 0–2 1–11 0–4 —
Source: MacedonianFootball

Group 9[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 10 6 4 0 23 9 +14 22 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 4–3
2  Ukraine 10 6 2 2 10 6 +4 20 Advance to second round 0–0 — 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0
3  Portugal 10 5 4 1 12 4 +8 19 0–0 1–0 — 3–1 1–0 2–0
4  Armenia 10 1 5 4 8 17 −9 8 1–5 0–2 0–0 — 0–0 3–0
5  Northern Ireland 10 1 4 5 6 10 −4 7 1–3 0–1 0–0 1–1 — 2–0
6  Albania 10 1 1 8 7 20 −13 4 2–3 0–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 —
Source: [citation needed]

Ranking of second-placed teams[edit]

Record against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Scotland 6 4 1 1 8 2 +6 13
 Italy 6 3 3 0 5 0 +5 12
 Belgium 6 4 0 2 11 11 0 12
 Russia 6 3 2 1 12 5 +7 11
 Croatia 6 3 2 1 11 8 +3 11
 Yugoslavia 6 3 2 1 7 5 +2 11
 Republic of Ireland 6 2 2 2 8 6 +2 8
 Ukraine 6 2 2 2 5 5 0 8
 Hungary 6 1 3 2 4 7 −3 6

Second round[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Croatia  3–1  Ukraine 2–0 1–1
Russia  1–2  Italy 1–1 0–1
Republic of Ireland  2–3  Belgium 1–1 1–2
Hungary  1–12  Yugoslavia 1–7 0–5

Qualified teams[edit]

The following 15 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 France Hosts 2 July 1992 9 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986)
 Denmark Group 1 winners 11 October 1997 1 (1986)
 England Group 2 winners 11 October 1997 9 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990)
 Norway Group 3 winners 6 September 1997 2 (1938, 1994)
 Austria Group 4 winners 11 October 1997 6 (1934, 1954, 1958, 1978, 1982, 1990)
 Bulgaria Group 5 winners 10 September 1997 6 (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1994)
 Spain Group 6 winners 11 October 1997 9 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)
 Netherlands Group 7 winners 11 October 1997 6 (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994)
 Romania Group 8 winners 18 August 1997 6 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994)
 Germany Group 9 winners 11 October 1997 13 (1934, 1938, 19542, 19582, 19622, 19662, 19702, 19742, 19782, 19822, 19862, 19902, 1994)
 Scotland Best runners-up 11 October 1997 7 (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990)
 Croatia Play-off winners 15 November 1997 0 (debut)
 Italy Play-off winners 15 November 1997 13 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)
 Belgium Play-off winners 15 November 1997 9 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)
 Yugoslavia Play-off winners 15 November 1997 8 (19303, 19503, 19543, 19583, 19623, 19743, 19823, 19903)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Competed as West Germany. A separate team for East Germany also participated in qualifications during this time, having only competed in 1974.
3 Competed as Yugoslavia.

Goalscorers[edit]

There were 667 goals scored in 228 matches, for an average of 2.93 goals per match.

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

Notes[edit]

  • To date, this was the last time that Portugal failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – November 1995 (UEFA)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 November 1995. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. ^ "The 1998 FIFA World Cup - Preliminary Draw in Paris". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 30 November 1995. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

External links[edit]

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