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.

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Tournament details
Dates	March 24th 1996 – November 16th 1997
Teams	28[a] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	98
Goals scored	295 (3.01 per match)
Attendance	2,065,454 (21,076 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Carlos Hermosillo (11 Goals)
← 1994 2002 →

Main article: 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

March 24, 1996

Dominican Republic	3–2	Aruba
Rodríguez 28' Mariano 50' Peña 73'	Report	Davelaar 60' Malmberg 84'

Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Timothy Joseph (Saint Lucia)

March 31, 1996

Aruba	1–3	Dominican Republic
Davelaar 38' (pen.)	Report	Rodríguez 5' (pen.) Aquino 62' Queliz 87'

Trinidad Stadium, Oranjestad

Attendance: 1,137

Referee: Gilberto Alcalá Pineda (Mexico)

Dominican Republic won 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the first round.

---

Group B

March 29, 1996

Guyana	1–2	Grenada
Joseph 13'	Report	Charles 54' Roberts 63'

Bourda Cricket Ground, Georgetown

Attendance: 1,000

Referee: Christiaan Eiloof (Suriname)

April 7, 1996

Grenada	6–0	Guyana
Charles 33' François 40', 47' Fletcher 48', 71', 82'	Report

Grenada National Stadium, Saint George's

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Billy Doctrove (Dominica)

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

March 10, 1996

Dominica	3–3	Antigua and Barbuda
Dominique 8' Dangler 42' Marshall 89'	Report	Clarke 15' Edwards 28', 75'

Windsor Park, Roseau

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Mark Forde (Barbados)

March 31, 1996

Antigua and Barbuda	1–3	Dominica
Edwards 59'	Report	Greenaway 23' Morancie 60' Edmond 66'

Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's

Attendance: 900

Referee: Evaroy Babb (Guyana)

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

May 4, 1996

Dominican Republic	2–1	Netherlands Antilles
Jiménez 35' Zapata 68'	Report	Gersley 40'

Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Victorino Rodríguez Portillo (El Salvador)

May 11, 1996

Netherlands Antilles	0–0	Dominican Republic
	Report

Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad

Attendance: 1,111

Referee: Carlos Mendizabal Euceda (Guatemala)

Dominican Republic won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

---

Group 2

May 12, 1996

Haiti	6–1	Grenada
Chevalier 11' Pierre 35', 58' Chauvet 62', 64', 73'	Report	Modeste 85'

Stade Capois, Cap Haitien

Attendance: 5,500

Referee: Robin Murray (Trinidad and Tobago)

May 18, 1996

Grenada	0–1	Haiti
	Report	Pierre 49'

Queen's Park (Grenada), St. George's

Attendance: 1,200

Referee: Victor Moore (Barbados)

Haiti won 7–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

---

Group 3

May 12, 1996

Cayman Islands	0–1	Cuba
	Report	Darcourt 10'

Truman Bodden, George Town

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Argelio Sabillon (Honduras)

May 14, 1996

Cuba	5–0	Cayman Islands
Cruzata 19' Sebrango 63' Darcourt 68', 81' Moré 83'	Report

Truman Bodden, George Town (Cayman Islands)

Attendance: 1,200

Referee: Pascual Rebolledo Cárdenas (Mexico)

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

---

Group 4

May 5, 1996

Saint Kitts and Nevis	5–1	Saint Lucia
Kelley 5', 86' Sargeant 22', 44' Gumbs 41'	Report	Jean 51'

Warner Park, Basseterre

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Robin Murray (Trinidad and Tobago)

May 19, 1996

Saint Lucia	0–1	Saint Kitts and Nevis
	Report	Kelley 50'

Mindoo Philip Park, Castries

Attendance: 500

Referee: Harry Leocadio Davelaar (Antigua and Barbuda)

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

---

Group 5

May 4, 1996

Puerto Rico	1–2	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Lugris 70' (pen.)	Report	Huggins 18' Hinds 58'

Estadio Efrain Carcayo Alicea, Bayamón

Attendance: 200

Referee: Manuel Villar (Aruba)

May 12, 1996

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7–0	Puerto Rico
Jack 3', 13', 25' Mussenden 35' (o.g.) Hinds 37', 59' Charles 64'	Report

Amos Vale Stadium, Kingstown

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Lancelotte Livingston (Jamaica)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won 9-1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

---

Group 6

May 14, 1996

Dominica	0–1	Barbados
	Report	Proverbs 63'

Windsor Park, Roseau

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Charles Barrett (Jamaica)

May 19, 1996

Barbados	1–0	Dominica
Goodridge 67'	Report

Barbados National Stadium, Bridgetown

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Austin Eric Harewood (Trinidad and Tobago)

Barbados won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

---

Group 7

March 31, 1996

Suriname	0–1	Jamaica
	Report	Whitmore 56'

Flora Stadion, Paramaribo

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Vanroy Burnes (Antigua and Barbuda)

April 21, 1996

Jamaica	1–0	Suriname
P. Davis 73'	Report

Independence Park, Kingston

Attendance: 6,100

Referee: Ronald Gutíerrez Castro (Costa Rica)

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

June 23, 1996

Cuba	6–1	Haiti
Sebrango 18' Pedraza 44' Darcourt 61', 70', 71' Moré 81'	Report	R. Pierre 84'

Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Mario Efrain Escobar (Guatemala)

June 30, 1996

Haiti	1–1	Cuba
Chauvet 21'	Report	Cruz 79' (pen.)

Stade Capois, Cap Haitien

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Ramon Luis Mendez Vega (Costa Rica)

Cuba won 7–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.

---

Group B

June 15, 1996

Dominican Republic	1–4	Trinidad and Tobago
Jiménez 59'	Report	Latapy 37', 67' Aquino 39' (o.g.) Eve 84'

Estadio Olímpico, Santo Domingo

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

June 23, 1996

Trinidad and Tobago	8–0	Dominican Republic
John 1', 23', 80' Yorke 8' Eve 16', 42' Rougier 19' Latapy 89'	Report

Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

Trinidad and Tobago won 12–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.

---

Group C

June 23, 1996

Barbados	0–1	Jamaica
	Report	Boyd 90'

Barbados National Stadium, Bridgetown

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Arturo Angeles (United States)

June 30, 1996

Jamaica	2–0	Barbados
Whitmore 23' Boyd 72'	Report

Independence Park, Kingston

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago)

Jamaica won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.

---

Group D

June 23, 1996

Saint Kitts and Nevis	2–2	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Gumbs 38' Bedford 88'	Report	Hinds 12' Velox 35'

Warner Park, Basseterre

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Mark Forde (Barbados)

June 30, 1996

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0–0	Saint Kitts and Nevis
	Report

Amos Vale Stadium, Kingstown

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Peter Prendergast (Jamaica)

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

May 5, 1996

Nicaragua	0–1	Guatemala
	Report	Plata 27'

Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba

Attendance: 2,500

Referee: Tim Wayland (United States)

May 10, 1996

Guatemala	2–1	Nicaragua
Plata 62', 67'	Report	Jerez 87'

Guatemala City

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Dino Bucci (Canada)

Guatemala won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.

---

Group F

June 2, 1996

Belize	1–2	Panama
McCaulay 28'	Report	Guevara 57' Dely Valdés 61'

National Stadium, Belize City

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Rafael Rodriguez Medina (El Salvador)

June 9, 1996

Panama	4–1	Belize
Dely Valdés 14', 46', 61' Mendieta 88'	Report	Casey 60'

Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City

Attendance: 17,500

Referee: Donald Campos (Nicaragua)

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

Third round

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round

Group 1

Pos	Team v t e	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			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	—

Source: ^[1]

Group 2

Pos	Team v t e	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			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	—

Source: ^[1]

Group 3

Pos	Team v t e	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			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	—

Source: ^[1]

Fourth round

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round

Pos	Team v t e	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			2–2	—	1–1	1–0	4–2	3–0
3	Jamaica	10	3	5	2	7	12	−5	14			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	—

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Qualified teams

The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
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)

Notes

1. Bahamas and Bermuda withdrew before playing any matches.