1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

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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 semi-finals directly. The remaining 24 teams were divided into two zones, based on geographical locations, as follows:

• 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 semi-finals.
• 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 semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, 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.

Contents 1 Preliminary round 1.1 Group A 1.2 Group B 1.3 Group C 1.4 Group D 2 First round 2.1 Group A 2.2 Group B 2.3 Group C 2.4 Group D 2.5 Group E 2.6 Group F 2.7 Group G 2.8 Group H 3 Second round 3.1 Caribbean Zone 3.1.1 Group A 3.1.2 Group B 3.1.3 Group C 3.1.4 Group D 3.2 Central American Zone 3.2.1 Group E 3.2.2 Group F 4 Third round 4.1 Group 1 4.2 Group 2 4.3 Group 3 5 Final round

Preliminary round

Group A

March 24, 1996	Dominican Republic	3 – 2	Aruba	Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Timothy Joseph
	Rodríguez  28' Mariano  50' Peca  73'		Davellar  60' Malmberg  84'

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March 31, 1996	Aruba	1 – 3	Dominican Republic	Trinidad Stadium, Oranjestad Attendance: 1,137 Referee: Gilberto Alcalá Pineda
	Davelaar  38'		Rodríguez  5' Aquino  62' Queliz  87'

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Dominican Republic advanced to the First round by the aggregate score of 6-3.

Group B

April 7, 1996	Grenada	6 – 0	Guyana	Grenada National Stadium, Saint George's Referee: Billy Doctrove
	Charles  33' François  40'  47' Fletcher  48'  71'  82'

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June 29, 1996	Guyana	1 – 2	Grenada	Bourda Cricket Ground, Georgetown Referee: Christiaan Eiloof
	Joseph  13'		Charles  54' Otis Roberts  63'

Grenada advanced to the First round by the aggregate score of 8-1.

Group C

 Bahamas withdrew, so  Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the First round automatically.

Group D

March 10, 1996	Dominica	3 – 3	Antigua and Barbuda	Windsor Park, Roseau Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Mark Forde
	Dominique  8' Dangler  42' Marshall  89'		Clarke  15' Edwards  28'  75'

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March 31, 1996	Antigua and Barbuda	1 – 3	Dominica	Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's Attendance: 900 Referee: Evaroy Babb
	Edwards  59'		Greenaway  23' Morancie  60' Edmond  66'

Dominica advanced to the First round by the aggregate score of 6-4.

First round

Group A

March 31, 1996	Suriname	0 – 1	Jamaica	Flora Stadion, Paramaribo Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Vanroy Burnes
			Whitmore  56'

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April 21, 1996	Jamaica	1 – 0	Suriname	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 6,100 Referee: Ronald Gutíerrez Castro
	P. Davis  73'

Jamaica advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 2-0.

Group B

May 4, 1996	Dominican Republic	2 – 1	Netherlands Antilles	Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Victorino Rodríguez Portillo
	Jiménez  35' Zapata  68'		Gersley  40'

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May 11, 1996	Netherlands Antilles	0 – 0	Dominican Republic	Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad Attendance: 1,111 Referee: Carlos Mendizabal Euceda

Dominican Republic advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 2-1.

Group C

May 4, 1996	Puerto Rico	1 – 2	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Estadio Efrain Carcayo Alicea, Bayamón Referee: Manuel Villar
	Lugris  70' (pen.)		Huggins  18' Hinds  58'

May 12, 1996	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7 – 0	Puerto Rico	Amos Vale Stadium, Kingston Referee: Lancelotte Livingston
	Jack  3'  13'  25' Mussenden  35' (O.g) Hinds  37'  59' Charles  64'

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 9-1.

Group D

May 12, 1996, Georgetown, Cayman Islands -  Cayman Islands 0 - 1 Cuba 

May 14, 1996, Georgetown, Cayman Islands -  Cuba 5 - 0 Cayman Islands 

Both matches were played in Cayman Islands.

Cuba advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 6-0.

Group E

May 5, 1996, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis -  Saint Kitts and Nevis 5 - 1  Saint Lucia

May 19, 1996, Castries, Saint Lucia -  Saint Lucia 0 - 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 

Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 6-1.

Group F

May 12, 1996, Port-au-Prince, Haiti -  Haiti 6 - 1 Grenada 

May 18, 1996, St. George's, Grenada -  Grenada 0 - 1 Haiti 

Haiti advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 7-1.

Group G

May 14, 1996, Roseau, Dominica -  Dominica 0 - 1 Barbados 

May 19, 1996, Bridgetown, Barbados -  Barbados 1 - 0 Dominica 

Barbados advanced to the Second round by the aggregate score of 2-0.

Group H

 Bermuda withdrew, so  Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the Second round automatically.

Second round

Caribbean Zone

Group A

June 23, 1996, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -  Cuba 6 - 1 Haiti 

This match was played on neutral ground instead of in Cuba.

June 30, 1996, Port-au-Prince, Haiti -  Haiti 1 - 1 Cuba 

Cuba advanced to the semi-finals by the aggregate score of 7-2.

Group B

June 15, 1996, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic -  Dominican Republic 1 - 4 Trinidad and Tobago 

June 23, 1996, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -  Trinidad and Tobago 8 - 0 Dominican Republic 

Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the semi-finals by the aggregate score of 12-1.

Group C

June 23, 1996, Bridgetown, Barbados -  Barbados 0 - 1 Jamaica 

June 30, 1996, Kingston, Jamaica -  Jamaica 2 - 0 Barbados 

Jamaica advanced to the semi-finals by the aggregate score of 3-0.

Group D

June 23, 1996, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis -  Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 - 2 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 

June 30, 1996, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 - 0 Saint Kitts and Nevis 

The aggregate score was tied 2-2, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines advanced to the semi-finals due to the away goals rule.

Central American Zone

Group E

May 5, 1996, Diriamba, Nicaragua -  Nicaragua 0 - 1 Guatemala 

May 10, 1996, Guatemala City, Guatemala -  Guatemala 2 - 1 Nicaragua 

Guatemala advanced to the semi-finals by the aggregate score of 3-1.

Group F

June 2, 1996, Belize City, Belize -  Belize 1 - 2 Panama 

June 9, 1996, Panama City, Panama -  Panama 4 - 1 Belize 

Panama advanced to the semi-finals by the aggregate score of 6-2.

Third round

Group 1

September 1, 1996, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -  Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 1 Costa Rica 

October 6, 1996, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -  Trinidad and Tobago 1 - 1 Guatemala 

November 3, 1996, Washington, D.C., USA -  United States 2 - 0 Guatemala 

November 10, 1996, Richmond, USA -  United States 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago 

November 17, 1996, San José, Costa Rica -  Costa Rica 3 - 0 Guatemala 

November 24, 1996, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -  Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 1 United States 

November 24, 1996, Los Angeles, USA -  Guatemala 1 - 0 Costa Rica 

December 1, 1996, San José, Costa Rica -  Costa Rica 2 - 1 United States 

December 8, 1996, Los Angeles, USA -  Guatemala 2 - 1 Trinidad and Tobago 

December 14, 1996, Palo Alto, USA -  United States 2 - 1 Costa Rica 

December 21, 1996, San José, Costa Rica -  Costa Rica 2 - 1 Trinidad and Tobago 

December 21, 1996, San Salvador, El Salvador -  Guatemala 2 - 2 United States 

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	United States	6	4	1	1	10	5	5	13
2	Costa Rica	6	4	0	2	9	5	4	12
3	Guatemala	6	2	2	2	6	9	-3	8
4	Trinidad and Tobago	6	0	1	5	3	9	-6	1

USA and Costa Rica advanced to the final round. Guatemala played their home games in Los Angeles and San Salvador instead of at home due to FIFA stadium standards.

Group 2

Cuba played all their matches away from home.

August 30, 1996, Edmonton, Canada -  Canada 3 - 1 Panama 

September 8, 1996, San Salvador, El Salvador -  Cuba 0 - 5 El Salvador 

September 22, 1996, Panama City, Panama -  Cuba 3 - 1 Panama 

October 6, 1996, Panama City, Panama -  Panama 1 - 1 El Salvador 

October 10, 1996, Edmonton, Canada -  Canada 2 - 0 Cuba 

October 13, 1996, Edmonton, Canada -  Cuba 0 - 2 Canada 

October 27, 1996, Panama City, Panama -  Panama 0 - 0 Canada 

November 3, 1996, Vancouver, Canada -  Canada 1 - 0 El Salvador 

November 10, 1996, San Salvador, El Salvador -  El Salvador 3 - 2 Panama 

December 1, 1996, San Salvador, El Salvador -  El Salvador 3 - 0 Cuba 

December 15, 1996, Panama City, Panama -  Panama 3 - 1 Cuba 

December 15, 1996, San Salvador, El Salvador -  El Salvador 0 - 2 Canada 

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Canada	6	5	1	0	10	1	9	16
2	El Salvador	6	3	1	2	12	6	6	10
3	Panama	6	1	2	3	8	11	-3	5
4	Cuba	6	1	0	5	4	16	-12	3

Canada and El Salvador advanced to the final round.

Group 3

September 15, 1996, Kingston, Jamaica -  Jamaica 3 - 0 Honduras 

September 15, 1996, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 - 3 Mexico 

September 21, 1996, San Pedro Sula, Honduras -  Honduras 2 - 1 Mexico 

September 23, 1996, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 - 2 Jamaica 

October 13, 1996, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 - 4 Honduras 

October 16, 1996, Mexico City, Mexico -  Mexico 2 - 1 Jamaica 

October 27, 1996, San Pedro Sula, Honduras -  Honduras 0 - 0 Jamaica 

October 30, 1996, Mexico City, Mexico -  Mexico 5 - 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 

November 6, 1996, Mexico City, Mexico -  Mexico 3 - 1 Honduras 

November 10, 1996, Kingston, Jamaica -  Jamaica 5 - 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 

November 17, 1996, Kingston, Jamaica -  Jamaica 1 - 0 Mexico 

November 17, 1996, San Pedro Sula, Honduras -  Honduras 11 - 3 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Jamaica	6	4	1	1	12	3	9	13
2	Mexico	6	4	0	2	14	6	8	12
3	Honduras	6	3	1	2	18	11	7	10
4	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	6	0	0	6	6	30	-24	0

Jamaica and Mexico advanced to the final round.

Final round

March 2, 1997	Mexico	4 – 0	Canada	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 95,000 Referee: Argelio Sabillon
	Hermosillo  51'  81' Galindo  61' Zague  88'

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March 2, 1997	Jamaica	0 – 0	United States	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 35,246 Referee: Jose Ramirez Suazo

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March 16, 1997	United States	3 – 0	Canada	Stanford Stadium, Stanford Attendance: 28,898 Referee: Luis Oliveto
	Wynalda  7' Pope  13' Stewart  88'

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March 16, 1997	Costa Rica	0 – 0	Mexico	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Alberto Tejada

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March 23, 1997	Costa Rica	3 – 2	United States	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Mario Escobar
	Medford  10' Solís  32' Gómez  76'		Wynalda  25' Lassiter  67'

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April 6, 1997	Canada	0 – 0	El Salvador	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 8,312 Referee: Fernando Sánchez

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April 13, 1997	Mexico	6 – 0	Jamaica	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 115,100 Referee: Antonio Pereira da Silva
	Galindo  10' Hermosillo  18'  39'  47' del Olmo  52' Hernándéz  85'

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April 20, 1997	United States	2 – 2	Mexico	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough Attendance: 57,877 Referee: Ubaldo Aquino
	Pope  34' Ramírez  73' (Og)		Hermosillo  1' Hernández  53'

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April 27, 1997	Canada	0 – 0	Jamaica	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 7,634 Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan

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May 4, 1997	El Salvador	2 – 1	Costa Rica	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Attendance: 35,611 Referee: Oscar Ruiz Acosta
	Díaz Arce  19' Montes  57'		Arnáez  58'

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May 11, 1997	Costa Rica	3 – 1	Jamaica	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José Attendance: 20,500 Referee: José de Rosa Varela
	Wanchope  31'  71' Oviedo  89'		Williams  61'

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May 18, 1997	Jamaica	1 – 0	El Salvador	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas
	Williams  22'

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June 1, 1997	Canada	1 – 0	Costa Rica	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 10,150 Referee: Nelson Calix
	Berdusco  68'

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June 8, 1997	El Salvador	0 – 1	Mexico	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Hugo Cordero
			García Postigo  64'

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June 29, 1997	El Salvador	1 – 1	United States	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Attendance: 29,000 Referee: René Ortube Betancourt
	Díaz Arce  60'		Lassiter  57'

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August 10, 1997	Costa Rica	0 – 0	El Salvador	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José Attendance: 18,316 Referee: Nelson Cálix

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September 7, 1997	United States	1 – 0	Costa Rica	Portland Civic Stadium, Portland Attendance: 27,396 Referee: Jorge Luis Nieves
	Ramos  79'

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September 7, 1997	Jamaica	1 – 0	Canada	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Oscar Juan Ruiz Acosta
	Burton  55'

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September 14, 1997	Jamaica	1 – 0	Costa Rica	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan
	Burton  51'

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September 14, 1997	El Salvador	4 – 1	Canada	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Attendance: 27,767 Referee: Mario Efraín López
	Nildeson  16' Renderos  52' Cienfuegos  57' Díaz Arce  88'		Bunbury  25'

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October 5, 1997	United States	1 – 1	Jamaica	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 51,528 Referee: Mario Sanchez
	Wynalda  50'		Burton  51'

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October 5, 1997	Mexico	5 – 0	El Salvador	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 115,000 Referee: Eduardo Gamboa
	Galindo  30'  38' García Aspe  35' Zague  48' García  82'

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October 12, 1997	Canada	2 – 2	Mexico	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Referee: Carlos Mendizabal Euceda
	Corazzin  56' Bunbury  62'		Enrique Alfaro  8' Hermosillio  87'

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November 2, 1997	Mexico	0 – 0	United States	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 115,000 Referee: Javier Castrilli

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November 9, 1997	Canada	0 – 3	United States	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 8,420 Referee: John Jairo Toro
			Reyna  5' Wegerle  80'  90+4'

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November 9, 1997	El Salvador	2 – 2	Jamaica	Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Attendance: 34,200 Referee: José García Aranda
	Nildeson  47' Guerra  87'		Burton  52' Hall  78'

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November 9, 1997	Mexico	3 – 3	Costa Rica	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Mohammed Ali Bujsaim
	Chávez  1' Galindo  42' Hermosillo 68'		Medford  54' Soto  71' Wanchope  86'

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November 16, 1997	Costa Rica	3 – 1	Canada	Estadio Nacional, San José Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Antônio Pereira
	Smith  7' Ilama  47' Marín  89' (pen)		Fletcher  2H'

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November 16, 1997	United States	4 – 2	El Salvador	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough Attendance: 53,193 Referee: Pierluigi Collina
	McBride  22'  28' Henderson  49' Preki  82'		Nildeson  60' Díaz Arce  62' (pen)

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November 16, 1997	Jamaica	0 – 0	Mexico	Independence Park, Kingston Attendance: 35,700 Referee: José Antonio Arana

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mexico	10	4	6	0	23	7	16	18
2	United States	10	4	5	1	17	9	8	17
3	Jamaica	10	3	5	2	7	12	-5	14
4	Costa Rica	10	3	3	4	13	12	1	12
5	El Salvador	10	2	4	4	11	16	-5	10
6	Canada	10	1	3	6	5	20	-15	6

Mexico, USA and Jamaica qualified.

v t e 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers AFC First Round Final Round Play-off CAF First Round Final Round CONCACAF Preliminary Round First Round Second Round Third Round Final Round CONMEBOL Group Round OFC First Round Second Round Final Round UEFA Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Play-offs Play-offs AFC v OFC Intercontinential Play-off