# 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round

The third round of CONCACAF matches for 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from August 30, 1996, to December 21, 1996.

## Format

A total of 12 teams (six teams given a bye to the third round and the six winners from the second round) were divided into three groups of four teams each. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of six matches per team. The top two teams of each group (three group winners and three runners-up) advanced to the fourth round (also called the 'Hexagonal' or 'Hex').

## Qualified teams

Teams with a bye to the third round:
* Canada
* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* Honduras
* Mexico
* United States
Second round winners:
* Cuba
* Guatemala
* Jamaica
* Panama
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago

## Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | United States | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 13 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 | Advanced to the fourth round | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Guatemala | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 8 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 |
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |

## Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Canada | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 16 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | El Salvador | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 10 | Advanced to the fourth round | 0–2 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Panama | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Cuba | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 3 | | 0–2 | 0–5 | 3–1 | — |

## Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Jamaica | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 13 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| 2 | Mexico | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 12 | Advanced to the fourth round | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| 3 | Honduras | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 10 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 11–3 |
| 4 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 30 | −24 | 0 | | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–4 | — |

## Goalscorers

There were 112 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.11 goals per match.
5 goals
* Raúl Díaz Arce
* Nicolás Suazo
* Julio Dely Valdés
3 goals
* Alex Bunbury
* Paul Peschisolido
* Rónald Gómez
* Paulo Wanchope
* Walter Boyd
* Theodore Whitmore
* Paul Young
* Benjamín Galindo
* Carlos Hermosillo
* Zague
2 goals
* Eduardo Sebrango
* Guillermo Rivera
* Juan Carlos Plata
* Julio Rodas
* Eduardo Bennett
* Milton Núñez
* Carlos Pavón
* Enrique Reneau
* Christian Santamaria
* Ricardo Peláez
* Jerren Nixon
* Brian McBride
* Eric Wynalda
1 goal
* Geoff Aunger
* Carlo Corazzin
* Nick Dasovic
* Mark Watson
* Javier Delgado
* Wílmer López
* Hernan Medford
* Manuel Bobadilla
* Lester Moré
* Mauricio Cienfuegos
* Wilfredo Iraheta
* William Renderos
* Jorge Rodríguez
* Giovanni Trigueros
* Juan Manuel Funes
* Rudy Ramírez
* Arnold Cruz
* Merlyn Membreño
* Barrios Zapata
* Peter Cargill
* Ian Goodison
* Stephen Malcolm
* Damián Ariel Álvarez
* Ramón Ramírez
* Juan Carlos Cubillas
* Rubén Guevara
* Víctor René Mendieta
* James Chewitt
* Alwyn Guy
* Christopher Harry
* Rodney Jack
* Everad Sam
* Kendall Velox
* Angus Eve
* Thomas Dooley
* Frankie Hejduk
* Cobi Jones
* Roy Lassiter
* Joe-Max Moore
* Preki
1 own goal
* Dexter Walker (against Mexico)