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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.
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 would advance 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 would qualify. The runners-up would advance to the AFC Play-off.
- Play-off: The 2 teams played against each other once in Malaysia. The winner would qualify. The loser would advance to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-offs.
[edit] First Round
[edit] Group 1
March 16, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -  Chinese Taipei 0 - 2 Saudi Arabia 
March 16, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -  Malaysia 2 - 0 Bangladesh 
March 18, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Bangladesh 1 - 3 Chinese Taipei
March 18, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia 0 - 0 Saudi Arabia
March 20, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Bangladesh 1 - 4 Saudi Arabia
March 20, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia 2 - 0 Chinese Taipei
March 27, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Chinese Taipei 0 - 0 Malaysia
March 27, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia 3 - 0 Bangladesh
March 29, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia 3 - 0 Malaysia
March 29, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Chinese Taipei 1 - 2 Bangladesh
March 31, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Bangladesh 0 - 1 Malaysia
March 31, 1997, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia 6 - 0 Chinese Taipei
Saudi Arabia advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 2
June 2, 1997, Damascus, Syria -  Maldives 0 - 17 Iran 
June 4, 1997, Damascus, Syria -  Syria 12 - 0 Maldives
June 4, 1997, Damascus, Syria -  Kyrgyzstan 0 - 7 Iran
June 6, 1997, Damascus, Syria - Syria 0 - 1 Iran
June 6, 1997, Damascus, Syria - Kyrgyzstan 3 - 0 Maldives
June 9, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Iran 3 - 1 Kyrgyzstan
June 9, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Maldives 0 - 12 Syria
June 11, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Iran 9 - 0 Maldives
June 11, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Kyrgyzstan 2 - 1 Syria
June 13, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Iran 2 - 2 Syria
June 13, 1997, Tehran, Iran - Maldives 0 - 6 Kyrgyzstan
Syria vs Kyrgystan was not played, since neither team could advance with a win.
| Rank |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Iran |
6 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
39 |
3 |
36 |
16 |
| 2 |
Kyrgyzstan |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
11 |
1 |
9 |
| 3 |
Syria |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
27 |
5 |
22 |
7 |
| 4 |
Maldives |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
59 |
-59 |
0 |
Iran advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 3
April 8, 1997, Manama, Bahrain -  Jordan 0 - 0 United Arab Emirates 
April 11, 1997, Manama, Bahrain -  Bahrain 1 - 2 United Arab Emirates
April 14, 1997, Manama, Bahrain - Bahrain 1 - 0 Jordan
April 19, 1997, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - Jordan 4 - 1 Bahrain
April 22, 1997, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - United Arab Emirates 3 - 0 Bahrain
April 26, 1997, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - United Arab Emirates 2 - 0 Jordan
United Arab Emirates advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 4
March 23, 1997, Muscat, Oman -  Nepal 1 - 1 Macau 
March 23, 1997, Muscat, Oman -  Oman 0 - 1 Japan 
March 25, 1997, Muscat, Oman - Macau 0 - 10 Japan
March 25, 1997, Muscat, Oman - Oman 1 - 0 Nepal
March 27, 1997, Muscat, Oman - Nepal 0 - 6 Japan
March 27, 1997, Muscat, Oman - Oman 4 - 0 Macau
June 22, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Japan 10 - 0 Macau
June 22, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Nepal 0 - 6 Oman
June 25, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Japan 3 - 0 Nepal
June 25, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Macau 0 - 2 Oman
June 28, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Japan 1 - 1 Oman
June 28, 1997, Tokyo, Japan - Macau 2 - 1 Nepal
| Rank |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Japan |
6 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
31 |
1 |
30 |
16 |
| 2 |
Oman |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
2 |
12 |
13 |
| 3 |
Macau |
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
28 |
-25 |
4 |
| 4 |
Nepal |
6 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
19 |
-17 |
1 |
Japan advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 5
April 6, 1997, Jakarta, Indonesia -  Indonesia 8 - 0 Cambodia 
April 13, 1997, Manado, Indonesia - Indonesia 0 - 0 Yemen 
April 20, 1997, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Cambodia 0 - 1 Yemen
April 27, 1997, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Cambodia 1 - 1 Indonesia
May 9, 1997, Sanaa, Yemen - Yemen 0 - 1 Uzbekistan 
May 16, 1997, Sanaa, Yemen - Yemen 7 - 0 Cambodia
May 25, 1997, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Uzbekistan 6 - 0 Cambodia
June 1, 1997, Surabaya, Indonesia - Indonesia 1 - 1 Uzbekistan
June 13, 1997, Sanaa, Yemen - Yemen 1 - 1 Indonesia
June 20, 1997, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Uzbekistan 3 - 0 Indonesia
June 29, 1997, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Cambodia 1 - 4 Uzbekistan
August 24, 1997, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Uzbekistan 5 - 1 Yemen
Uzbekistan advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 6
February 23, 1997, Hong Kong -  Hong Kong 0 - 2 Korea Republic 
March 2, 1997, Bangkok, Thailand -  Thailand 1 - 3 Korea Republic
March 9, 1997, Bangkok, Thailand - Thailand 2 - 0 Hong Kong
March 30, 1997, Hong Kong - Hong Kong 3 - 2 Thailand
May 28, 1997, Daejeon, South Korea - Korea Republic 4 - 0 Hong Kong
June 1, 1997, Seoul, South Korea - Korea Republic 0 - 0 Thailand
Korea Republic advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 7
April 13, 1997, Beirut, Lebanon -  Lebanon 1 - 1 Singapore 
April 26, 1997, Singapore - Singapore 0 - 1 Kuwait 
May 8, 1997, Kuwait City, Kuwait - Kuwait 2 - 0 Lebanon
May 24, 1997, Singapore - Singapore 1 - 2 Lebanon
June 5, 1997, Kuwait City, Kuwait - Kuwait 4 - 0 Singapore
June 22, 1997, Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon 1 - 3 Kuwait
| Rank |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Kuwait |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
9 |
12 |
| 2 |
Lebanon |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
-3 |
4 |
| 3 |
Singapore |
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
-6 |
1 |
Kuwait advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 8
May 4, 1997, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan -  Turkmenistan 1 - 4 China PR 
May 4, 1997, Dushanbe, Tajikistan -  Tajikistan 4 - 0 Vietnam 
May 11, 1997, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - Turkmenistan 2 - 1 Vietnam
May 11, 1997, Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Tajikistan 0 - 1 China PR
May 25, 1997, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Vietnam 1 - 3 China PR
May 25, 1997, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - Turkmenistan 1 - 2 Tajikistan
June 1, 1997, Beijing, China - China PR 1 - 0 Turkmenistan
June 1, 1997, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Vietnam 0 - 4 Tajikistan
June 8, 1997, Beijing, China - China PR 0 - 0 Tajikistan
June 8, 1997, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Vietnam 0 - 4 Turkmenistan
June 22, 1997, Beijing, China - China PR 4 - 0 Vietnam
June 22, 1997, Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Tajikistan 5 - 0 Turkmenistan
China PR advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 9
May 11, 1997, Almaty, Kazakhstan -  Kazakhstan 3 - 0 Pakistan 
May 23, 1997, Lahore, Pakistan - Pakistan 2 - 6 Iraq 
June 6, 1997, Baghdad, Iraq - Iraq 1 - 2 Kazakhstan
June 11, 1997, Lahore, Pakistan - Pakistan 0 - 7 Kazakhstan
June 20, 1997, Baghdad, Iraq - Iraq 6 - 1 Pakistan
June 29, 1997, Almaty, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan 3 - 1 Iraq
| Rank |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Kazakhstan |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
2 |
13 |
12 |
| 2 |
Iraq |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
| 3 |
Pakistan |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
22 |
-19 |
0 |
Kazakhstan advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Group 10
September 20, 1996, Doha, Qatar -  Qatar 3 - 0 Sri Lanka 
September 21, 1996, Doha, Qatar -  India 2 - 0 Philippines 
September 23, 1996, Doha, Qatar - Qatar 5 - 0 Philippines
September 24, 1996, Doha, Qatar - Sri Lanka 1 - 1 India
September 26, 1996, Doha, Qatar - |
