Group 3 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: [a] 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.
| 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 | — |
| Azerbaijan | 1–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
Rzayev  28' | Report |
| Switzerland | 0–1 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Leonhardsen 32' |
| Azerbaijan | 1–2 | Finland |
|---|---|---|
| Suleymanov 83' (pen.) | Report | Litmanen 26' Paatelainen 64' |
| Switzerland | 1–0 | Hungary |
|---|---|---|
| Türkyilmaz 83' | Report |
| Hungary | 1–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Klausz 52' | Report | Chapuisat 90+1' |
| Azerbaijan | 0–1 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Report | T.A.Flo 42' |
| Switzerland | 5–0 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Türkyilmaz 13', 23', 69' (pen.) Yakin 43'Chapuisat 51' | Report |
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
1 own goal
Teuvo Moilanen (against Hungary)