# 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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

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

### Seeding

The teams were divided into five pools as shown in table below (November 1995 rankings shown in brackets).
Pot 1 :
| Pot 1 TeamRank  Germany2  Spain3  Italy4  Russia5  Norway6  Denmark8  Netherlands10  Sweden11  Romania12 | Pot 2 TeamRank  Bulgaria14  Switzerland15  Portugal16  Czech Republic18  England20  Republic of Ireland21  Scotland25  Belgium26  Greece29 | Pot 3 TeamRank  Turkey31  Poland33  Slovakia35  Austria38  Croatia39  Israel40  Finland41  Lithuania45  Northern Ireland46 |
| Pot 4 TeamRank  Iceland48  Latvia54  Wales57  Hungary60  Cyprus70  Ukraine71  Slovenia75  Georgia77  FR Yugoslavia80 | Pot 5 TeamRank  Albania87  Belarus88  Malta89  Macedonia90  Luxembourg98  Moldova107  Armenia112  Faroe Islands116  Estonia126  Azerbaijan136  San Marino142  Liechtenstein151  Bosnia and HerzegovinaNR |

### Summary

| 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 | FR 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

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 2

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 3

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 4

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup | 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 | — |

### Group 5

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 6

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | FR 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 | — |

### Group 7

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 8

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Group 9

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | — |

### Ranking of second-placed teams

Record against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | 4 | Scotland | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 13 | Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 2 | Italy | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 12 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 3 | 7 | Belgium | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 12 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 4 | 5 | Russia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 11 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 5 | 1 | Croatia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 11 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 6 | 6 | FR Yugoslavia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 7 | 8 | Republic of Ireland | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 8 | 9 | Ukraine | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |
| 9 | 3 | Hungary | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 6 | Advance to second round (play-offs) |

## 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 | FR Yugoslavia | 1–7 | 0–5 |

## Qualified teams

The following 15 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup |
| 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, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 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) |
| FR Yugoslavia | Play-off winners | 15 November 1997 | 8 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990) |
    $^1$ 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.

## Top goalscorers

There were 667 goals scored in 228 matches, for an average of 2.93 goals per match.
14 goals
* Predrag Mijatović
9 goals
* Savo Milošević
8 goals
* Gheorghe Popescu
* Hakan Şükür
7 goals
* Toni Polster
* Tony Cascarino
* Dennis Bergkamp
* Kennet Andersson
* Dejan Savićević
6 goals
* Luís Oliveira
* Emil Kostadinov
* Oliver Bierhoff
* Viorel Moldovan
* Kevin Gallacher
Below are full goalscorer lists for all groups and the play-offs:
* Group 1
* Group 2
* Group 3
* Group 4
* Group 5
* Group 6
* Group 7
* Group 8
* Group 9
* Play-offs