Group 3 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Azerbaijan, Finland, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.
Standings
| Pos | Team | 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 | — |
Matches
| Norway | 5–0 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
Solbakken  7', 46'Solskjær 37', 89'Strandli 59' |
Report |
| Azerbaijan | 1–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Rzayev 28' |
Report |
| Hungary | 1–0 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Orosz 15' |
Report |
| Finland | 2–3 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Sumiala 41' (pen.) Kolkka 77' |
Report | Lombardo 14' Sforza 34'Yakin 54' |
| Norway | 3–0 | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Rekdal 83', 89', 90' (pen.) |
Report |
| Switzerland | 0–1 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Leonhardsen 32' |
| Azerbaijan | 0–3 | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nyilas 42', 67' (pen.) Urbán 77' |
| Azerbaijan | 1–2 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Suleymanov 83' (pen.) |
Report | Litmanen 26' Paatelainen 64' |
| Norway | 1–1 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Solskjær 83' |
Report | Sumiala 60' |
| Switzerland | 1–0 | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Türkyilmaz 83' |
Report |
| Hungary | 1–1 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Kovács 22' |
Report | Rudi 9' |
| Finland | 3–0 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Vanhala 60' Litmanen 65'Sumiala 82' |
Report |
| Finland | 0–4 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Solbakken 9' Rudi 12'J.Flo 48'T.A.Flo 84' |
| Hungary | 1–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Klausz 52' |
Report | Chapuisat 90+1' |
| Azerbaijan | 0–1 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report | T.A.Flo 42' |
| Switzerland | 1–2 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Kunz 90+1' |
Report | Litmanen 16' Sumiala 79' |
| Norway | 5–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Jakobsen 46' Solbakken 51'Eggen 65'Østenstad 75'T.A.Flo 85' |
Report |
| Hungary | 3–1 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Klausz 8' Halmai 44'Illés 89' |
Report | Lychkin 71' |
| Finland | 1–1 | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Sumiala 63' |
Report | Moilanen 90+1' (o.g.) |
| Switzerland | 5–0 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Türkyilmaz 13', 23', 69' (pen.) Yakin 43'Chapuisat 51' |
Report |
Goalscorers
There were 56 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.8 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Vyacheslav Lychkin
- Vidadi Rzayev
- Nazim Suleymanov
- Joonas Kolkka
- Mika-Matti Paatelainen
- Jari Vanhala
- Gábor Halmai
- Béla Illés
- Zoltán Kovács
- Ferenc Orosz
- Flórián Urbán
- Dan Eggen
- Jostein Flo
- Jahn Ivar Jakobsen
- Øyvind Leonhardsen
- Frank Strandli
- Egil Østenstad
- Adrian Kunz
- Massimo Lombardo
- Ciriaco Sforza
1 own goal
- Teuvo Moilanen (against Hungary)
Notes
- Only 49 of the entered teams actually competed in the qualification tournament: France qualified for the World Cup automatically as host.
References
- "FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1998, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
External links
| 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
|---|---|
| « 1994 2002 » | |
| AFC | |
| CAF | |
| CONCACAF | |
| CONMEBOL | |
| OFC | |
| UEFA | |
| Play-offs | |
| Video game | |
- 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
- 1996–97 in Azerbaijani football
- 1997–98 in Azerbaijani football
- 1996 in Finnish football
- 1997 in Finnish football
- 1996–97 in Hungarian football
- 1997–98 in Hungarian football
- 1996 in Norwegian football
- 1997 in Norwegian football
- 1996–97 in Swiss football
- 1997–98 in Swiss football
- 1995–96 in Azerbaijani football