# 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

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.
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

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Dominican Republic | 6–3 | Aruba | 3–2 | 3–1 |
| Guyana | 1–8 | Grenada | 1–2 | 0–6 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | w/o | Bahamas | — | — |
| Dominica | 6–4 | Antigua and Barbuda | 3–3 | 3–1 |

### Group A

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

Dominica won 6–4 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | 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 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

Cuba won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

### Group 4

Saint Kitts and Nevis won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

### Group 5

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.Tooltip Aggregate score | 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

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

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 won 6-2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.

## Third round
### Group 1

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | — |

## Fourth round

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Jamaica | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 14 | Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup | 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 | — |

## Qualified teams

The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup |
| 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
* Carlos Hermosillo
9 goals
* Raúl Díaz Arce
* Julio Dely Valdés
8 goals
* Benjamín Galindo
6 goals
* Paulo Wanchope
* Lázaro Darcourt
5 goals
* Alex Bunbury
* Juan Carlos Plata
* Nicolás Suazo
* Walter Boyd
* Theodore Whitmore
* Zague
* Eric Wynalda
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)