| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 36 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer(s) |  Karim Bagheri (19 goals) |
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:
| Key to colours in group tables | |
|---|---|
| Group winners qualify for the Final round | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 16 |
 Malaysia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 11 |
 Chinese Taipei | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 4 |
 Bangladesh | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 3 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 3 | +36 | 16 |
 Syria | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 5 | +25 | 10 |
 Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 9 |
 Maldives | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 59 | −59 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Arab Emirates | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 10 |
 Jordan | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
 Bahrain | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 | +30 | 16 |
 Oman | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 13 |
 Macau | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 28 | −25 | 4 |
 Nepal | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 19 | −17 | 1 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Uzbekistan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 16 |
 Yemen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 8 |
 Indonesia | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 7 |
 Cambodia | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 27 | −25 | 1 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 10 |
 Thailand | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
 Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 3 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kuwait | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 12 |
 Lebanon | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 |
 Singapore | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 China | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 16 |
 Tajikistan | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 13 |
 Turkmenistan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 6 |
 Vietnam | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 21 | −19 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kazakhstan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 12 |
 Iraq | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 6 |
 Pakistan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 22 | −19 | 0 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 9 |
 Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
 India | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 |
 Philippines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
| Key to colours in group tables | |
|---|---|
| Group winners qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup | |
| Runners-up advance to the AFC play off | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 14 |
| Iran | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 12 |
| China | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −3 | 11 |
| Qatar | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 10 |
| Kuwait | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 |
| China | 2–4 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
Fan Zhiyi  44' (pen.)Li Ming 54' | (report) | Bagheri 61' (pen.) Mahdavikia 67', 73'Roosta 86' |
| Saudi Arabia | 2–1 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Mehalel 43' Al-Thuniyan 55' | (report) | Abdullah 18' |
| Iran | 1–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Bagheri 64' | (report) | Al-Sharani 32' |
| Qatar | 0–2 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| (report) | Al-Huwaidi 16' Abdulaziz 88' |
| Qatar | 1–1 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Nasir Khamees 10' | (report) | Hao Haidong 67' |
| Kuwait | 1–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Huwaidi 20' | (report) | Bagheri 90' |
| China | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Zhang Enhua 69' | (report) |
| Kuwait | 1–2 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Huwaidi 24' | (report) | Hao Haidong 3' Gao Feng 89' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | Qatar |
|---|---|---|
| Mehalel 66' | (report) |
| Kuwait | 2–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Abdulaziz 48' Mubarak 67' | (report) | Al-Muwallid 31' |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Muwallid 88' | (report) |
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | China |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Muwallid 4' | (report) | Hao Haidong 10' |
| China | 1–0 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Ma Mingyu 32' [1] | (report) |
| Qatar | 0–1 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| (report) | Al-Shahrani 61' |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 19 |
| Japan | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 13 |
| United Arab Emirates | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 9 |
| Uzbekistan | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 6 |
| Kazakhstan | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 6 |
| South Korea | 3–0 | Kazakhstan |
|---|---|---|
| Choi Yong-soo 24', 67', 74' | Report |
| Japan | 6–3 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Miura 4' (pen.), 40', 64', 80' Nakata 40'Jo 44' | Report | Shatskikh 56', 77' Fyodorov 69' (pen.) |
| South Korea | 2–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Choi Yong-soo 15' Lee Sang-yoon 87' | Report | Shatskikh 74' |
| United Arab Emirates | 4–0 | Kazakhstan |
|---|---|---|
| Ali 20' Obaid 48'Zuhair Bakheet 75'Mubarak 85' | Report |
| Kazakhstan | 1–1 | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|---|
| Baltiyev 84' | Report | Shatskikh 85' |
| Uzbekistan | 2–3 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Shirshov 10' Bazarov 90' | Report | Zuhair Bakheet 51' Alabadla 60'Adnan Al Talyani 85' |
| Japan | 1–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Yamaguchi 67' | Report | Seo Jung-won 83' Lee Min-sung 86' |
| South Korea | 3–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Ha Seok-ju 8' Yoo Sang-chul 69'Lee Sang-yoon 81' | Report |
| Kazakhstan | 1–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Zubarev 90+2' | Report | Akita 23' |
| Uzbekistan | 1–1 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Kambaraliev 30' | Report | Lopes 89' |
| Kazakhstan | 1–1 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Yevteyev 50' | Report | Choi Yong-soo 5' |
| Uzbekistan | 1–5 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Fedorov 61' (pen.) | Report | Choi Yong-soo 19', 41' Yoo Sang-chul 38'Ko Jeong-woon 57'Kim Do-hoon 70' |
| Kazakhstan | 3–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Sparyshev 55' Yevteyev 64'Yurist 75' | Report |
| Uzbekistan | 4–0 | Kazakhstan |
|---|---|---|
| Shkvyrin 19', 33' Fedorov 44'Kasimov 71' | Report |
| Japan | 1–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Lopes 4' | Report | Mubarak 37' |
| South Korea | 0–2 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nanami 2' Lopes 37' |
| United Arab Emirates | 1–3 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Zuhair Bakheet 58' | Report | Lee Sang-yoon 11' Kim Do-hoon 42', 67' |
| Iran | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Azizi 46' Daei 58' | report (FIFA) report (Japanese) | Nakayama 39' Jo 75'Okano  118' |
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | (a) 3–3 |  Australia | 1–1 | 2–2 |
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Final Round Group A winners | 12 November 1997 | 1 (1994) |
| South Korea | Final Round Group B winners | 18 October 1997 | 4 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994) |
| Japan | Play-off winners | 16 November 1997 | 0 (debut) |
| Iran | AFC–OFC play-off winners | 29 November 1997 | 1 (1978) |
There were 459 goals scored in 132 matches (including 2 international play-offs), for an average of 3.53 goals per match.
Gao Feng Rocky Putiray Widodo Putro Hamid Estili Reza Shahroudi Laith Hussein Yutaka Akita Wagner Lopes Hiroshi Nanami Boulat Esmagambetov Vladimir Loginov Pavel Yevteyev Sergey Kutsov Ahmed Hassan Mahmoud Soufi Obeid Al-Dosari Fahad Al-Mehallel Kim Do-hoon Lee Sang-yoon Yoo Sang-chul Nader Joukhadar Khaled Al Zaher Shukhrat Dzhaborov Takhirdjon Mouminov 
Mouslim Agaev Zuhair Bakheet Mohammed Jewel Rana Hok Sochetra Li Bing Ma Mingyu Peng Weiguo Ansyari Lubis Ronny Wabia Mehrdad Minavand Ali Asghar Modir Roosta Sahib Abbas Qahtan Chathir Shoji Jo Hiroaki Morishima Masashi Nakayama Akinori Nishizawa Norio Omura Jeris Tadrus Alexei Klishin Nourken Mazbaev Fawaz Al Ahmad Hamed Al Saleh Farhat Haitbaev Aleksandr Merzlikin Abdulfattah Shehab Mahfood Sultan Al Araimi Saeed Shaaban Al Busaidy Majdi Shaaban Samir Mohammad Umer Zamel Al Kuwari Adel Khamis Al Noobi Fazli Choi Moon-sik Ha Seok-ju Seo Jung-won Roshan Perera Aref Al Agha Tarek Jabban Oumed Alidodov Viacheslav Knizaev Natipong Sritong-In Adnan Al Talyani Adel Mohamed Abdulla Numon Khasanov Sergey Lebedev Shukhrat Maksudov Abdukahhor Marifaliev Nikolai Shirshov Khaled Al-Doseri Hameed Darwish Faisal Aziz Rashed Mohammed Alfaz Ahmed Ahmed Imtiaz Li Jinyu Li Ming Mao Yijun Su Maozhen Zhang Enhua 
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