Note: The nine group winners and the best runner-up automatically advance to France ’98. The eight other runner-ups will be drawn into pairs and play home-and-away series, with the four winners advancing to the World Cup Finals.
Group 1
April 24 in Athens
Greece 2 Slovenia 0. Goals: Batista 56, Nikolaides 66. Att.: 10,000.
Sept. 1 in Athens
Greece 3 Bosnia 0. Goals: Ouzunidis 42, Apostolakis 77, Nikolaidis 83. Att.:
7,000.
Sept. 1 in Ljubljana
Slovenia 0 Denmark 2. Goals: Nielsen 78, Andersen 89. Att.: 5,000.
Oct. 8 in Bologna, Italy
Bosnia 1 Croatia 4. Goals: Salihamidzic 25; Bilic 14, Vlaovic 32, Boksic 63, 84. Att.: n/a.
Oct. 9 in Copenhagen
Denmark 2 Greece 1. Goals: Own goal 25, B. Laudrup 50; Donis 35. Att.: 40,226.
Nov. 10 in Ljubljana
Slovenia 1 Bosnia 2. Goals: Zahovic pen. 41; Bolic 5, Kodro 32. Att.: n/a.
Nov. 10 in Zagreb
Croatia 1 Greece 1. Goals: Suker 45; Nikolaidis 9. Att.: n/a.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Greece | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| Denmark | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Bosnia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Schedule
March 29
Croatia vs. Denmark
April 2
Croatia vs. Slovenia; Bosnia vs. Greece
April 30
Denmark vs. Slovenia; Greece vs. Croatia
June 8
Denmark vs. Bosnia
Aug. 20
Bosnia vs. Denmark
Sept. 6
Croatia vs. Bosnia
Sept. 6 or 7
Slovenia vs. Greece
Sept. 10
Denmark vs. Croatia; Bosnia vs. Slovenia
Oct. 11
Greece vs. Denmark; Slovenia vs. Croatia
Group 2
Sept. 1 in Chisinau
Moldova 0 England 3. Goals: Barmby 24, Gascoigne 25, Shearer 61. Att.: 9,500.
Oct. 5 in Chisinau
Moldova 1 Italy 3. Goals: Curtianu 11; Ravanelli 8, 87, Casiraghi 68. Att.:
15,000.
Oct. 9 in Perugia
Italy 1 Georgia 0. Goal: Ravanelli 42. Att.: 16,146.
Oct. 9 in London
England 2 Poland 1. Goals: Shearer 24, 37; Citko 6. Att.: 74,663.
Nov. 9 in Tblisi
Georgia 0 England 2. Goals: Sheringham 15, Ferdinand 37. Att.: 75,000.
Nov. 10 in Katowice
Poland 2 Moldova 1. Goals: Baluszynski 4, Warzycha pen. 76; Clescenco pen. 78. Att.: 8,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| England | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
| Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Poland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Georgia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Moldova | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
Schedule
Feb. 12
England vs. Italy
March 29
Italy vs. Moldova
April 2
Poland vs. Italy
April 30
England vs. Georgia; Italy vs. Poland
May 31
Poland vs. England
June 7
Georgia vs. Moldova
June 14
Poland vs. Georgia
Sept. 10
England vs. Moldova; Georgia vs. Italy
Sept. 24
Moldova vs. Georgia
Oct. 7
Moldova vs. Poland
Oct. 11
Italy vs. England; Georgia vs. Poland
Group 3
June 2 in Oslo
Norway 5 Azerbaijan 0. Goals: Solbakken 8, 46, Solskjaer 37, 89, Strandli 60. Att.: 14,012.
Aug. 31 in Baku
Azerbaijan 1 Switzerland 0. Goal: Rzayev 28. Att.: 20,000.
Sept. 1 in Budapest
Hungary 1 Finland 0. Goal: Orosz 16. Att.: 10,000
Oct. 6 in Helsinki
Finland 2 Switzerland 3. Goals: Sumiala pen. 40, Kolkka 74; Lombardo 14, Sforza 34, Yakin 53. Att.: 7,220.
Oct. 9 in Oslo
Norway 3 Hungary 0. Goals: Rekdal 83, 89, 90. Att.: 22,480.
Nov. 10 in Berne
Switzerland 0 Norway 1. Goals: Leonhardsen 32.
Nov. 10 in Baku
Azerbaijan 0 Hungary 3. Goals: Nyilas 43, pen. 67, Urban 78. Att.: 31,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Norway | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Hungary | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Azerbaijan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| Finland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Schedule
April 2
Azerbaijan vs. Finland
April 30
Norway vs. Finland; Switzerland vs. Hungary
June 8
Finland vs. Azerbaijan; Hungary vs. Norway
Aug. 20
Finland vs. Norway; Hungary vs. Switzerland
Sept. 6
Switzerland vs. Finland; Azerbaijan vs. Norway
Sept. 10
Hungary vs. Azerbaijan; Norway vs. Switzerland
Oct. 11
Finland vs. Hungary; Switzerland vs. Azerbaijan
Group 4
June 1 in Stockholm
Sweden 5 Belarus 1. Goals: K. Andersson pen. 19, 62, Dahlin 30, P. Andersson 77, Larsson 88; Belkevich 75. Att.: 30,014.
Aug. 31 in Vienna
Austria 0 Scotland 0. Att.: 29,500.
Aug. 31 in Minsk
Belarus 1 Estonia 0. Goal: Makovsky 35. Att.: 6,000.
Sept. 1 in Riga
Latvia 1 Sweden 2. Goals: Rimkus 56; Dahlin 16, K.Andersson 21. Att.: 5,000.
Oct. 5 in Tallinn
Estonia 1 Belarus 0. Goal: Hohlov-Simson 52. Att.: 900.
Oct. 5 in Riga
Latvia 0 Scotland 2. Goals: Collins 18, Jackson 77. Att.: 9,500.
Oct. 9 in Stockholm
Sweden 0 Austria 1. Goal: Herzog 11. Att.: 36,859.
Oct. 9 in Minsk
Belarus 1 Latvia 1. Goals: Makovsky 78; Zemlitsky 16. Att.: 5,000.
Nov. 9 in Vienna
Austria 2 Latvia 1. Goals: Polster 43, Herzog 74; Rimkus 45. Att.: 15,700.
Nov. 10 in Glasgow
Scotland 1 Sweden 0. Goal: McGinlay 8. Att.: 50,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Austria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Sweden | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Belarus | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Estonia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Latvia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
Schedule
Feb. 11
Estonia vs. Scotland
March 29
Scotland vs. Estonia
April 2
Scotland vs. Austria
April 30
Austria vs. Estonia; Sweden vs. Scotland; Latvia vs. Belarus
May 18
Estonia vs. Latvia
June 8
Estonia vs. Sweden; Latvia vs. Austria; Belarus vs. Scotland
Aug. 20
Estonia vs. Austria; Belarus vs. Sweden
Sept. 6 Austria vs. Sweden; Scotland vs. Belarus; Latvia vs. Estonia
Sept. 10
Sweden vs. Latvia; Belarus vs. Austria
Oct. 11
Austria vs. Belarus; Scotland vs. Latvia; Sweden vs. Estonia
Group 5
Sept. 1 in Tel Aviv
Israel 2 Bulgaria 1. Goals: Harazi 35, Benin pen. 57; Balakov pen. 3. Att.:
24,000.
Sept. 1 in Moscow
Russia 4 Cyprus 0. Goals: Nikiforov 7, 51, Kolyvanoc 34, Bestchastnykh 82. Att.: n/a.
Oct. 8 in Luxembourg City
Luxembourg 1 Bulgaria 2. Goals: Langers 20; Balakov pen. 14, Kostadinov 37. Att.: 3,800.
Oct. 9 in Tel Aviv
Israel 1 Russia 1. Goals: Brumer 64; Kolyvanov 79. Att.: 38,000.
Nov. 10 in Luxembourg City
Luxembourg 0 Russia 4. Goals: Tikhonov 35, Kanchelskis 39, Beschastnykh 58, Karpin 81. Att.: 5,650.
Nov. 10 in Nicosia
Cyprus 2 Israel 0. Goals: Gogic 9, pen. 15. Att.: 10,000.
Dec. 14 in Nicosia
Cyprus 1 Bulgaria 3. Goals: Pittas 29; Balakov 23, 34, Iliev 70. Att.: n/a.
Dec. 15 in Tel Aviv
Israel 1 Luxembourg 0. Goal: Ohana 40. Att.: 28,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Russia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 7 |
| Israel | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Cyprus | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Luxembourg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Schedule
March 29
Cyprus vs. Russia
March 30
Luxembourg vs. Israel
April 2
Bulgaria vs. Cyprus
April 30
Israel vs. Cyprus; Russia vs. Luxembourg
June 8
Bulgaria vs. Luxembourg; Russia vs. Israel
Aug. 20
Bulgaria vs. Israel
Sept. 7
Luxembourg vs. Cyprus
Sept. 10
Bulgaria vs. Russia
Oct. 11
Cyprus vs. Luxembourg; Russia vs. Bulgaria
Group 6
April 24 in Belgrade
Yugoslavia 3 Faeroe Islands 1. Goals: Savicevic 3, 30, Milosevic 38; Petersen 54. Att.: n/a.
June 2 in Belgrade
Yugoslavia 6 Malta 0. Goals: Milosevic 2, 68, Mijatovic 39, Stojkovic 45, Savicevic pen. 70, 73. Att.: 20,000.
Aug. 31 in Toftir
Faeroe Islands 1 Slovakia 2. Goals: Mueller 60; Moravcik 13, Dubovsky 88. Att.: 1,445.
Sept. 4 in Toftir
Faeroe Islands 2 Spain 6. Goals: T.Jonsson 47, Arge 90; Luis Enrique 37, Alfonso 63, 84, 87, own goal 70, Hierro 85. Att.: 4,000.
Sept. 18 in Teplice
Czech Rep. 6 Malta 0. Goals: Berger 12, pen. 62, Nedved 24, Kubik 77, Smicer 83, Frydek 87. Att.: 11,000
Sept. 22 in Bratislava
Slovakia 6 Malta 0. Goals: Tittel 13, 81, Simon 16, Zeman 36, Timko 56, Dubovsky 59. Att.: 2,236.
Oct. 6 in Toftir
Faeroe Islands 1 Yugoslavia 8. Goals: Mueller 26; Milosevic 7, 36, 45, Jokanovic 10, 57, Mijatovic 30, Jugovic 68, Stojkovic 90. Att.: 1,017.
Oct. 9 in Prague
Czech Republic 0 Spain 0. Att.: 19,223.
Oct. 23 in Bratislava
Slovakia 3 Faeroe Islands 0. Goals: Dubovsky 20, Jancula 44, Simon pen. 57. Att.: 5,500.
Nov. 10 in Belgrade
Yugoslavia 1 Czech Republic 0. Goal: Mijatovic 18. Att.: 50,000.
Nov. 13 in Tenerife
Spain 4 Slovakia 1. Goals: Pizzi 32, Amor 46, Luis Enrique 56, Hierro 61; Tittel 39. Att.: n/a.
Dec. 14 in Valencia
Spain 2 Yugoslavia 0. Goals: Guardiola pen. 19, Raul 38. Att.: n/a.
Dec. 18 in Ta’Qali
Malta 0 Spain 3. Goals: Guerrero 8, 25, 33. Att.: 2,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 13 |
| Yugoslavia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 12 |
| Slovakia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 9 |
| Czech Rep. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Faroe Isl. | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 0 |
| Malta | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
Schedule
Feb. 12
Spain vs. Malta
March 31
Malta vs. Slovakia
April 2
Czech Republic vs. Yugoslavia
April 30
Yugoslavia vs. Spain; Malta vs. Faeroe Islands
May 21
Slovakia vs. Czech Republic
June 8
Yugoslavia vs. Slovakia; Faeroe Islands vs. Malta; Spain vs. Czech Republic
Aug 20
Czech Republic vs. Faeroe Islands
Sept. 6
Faeroe Islands vs. Czech Republic
Sept. 10
Slovakia vs. Yugoslavia
Sept. 24
Malta vs. Czech Republic; Slovakia vs. Spain
Oct. 11
Malta vs. Yugoslavia; Czech Republic vs. Slovakia; Spain vs. Faeroe Islands
Group 7
June 2 in San Marino
San Marino 0 Wales 5. Goals: Melville 20, Hughes 32, 43, Giggs 50, Pembridge 85. Att.: 1,613.
Aug. 31 in Brussels
Belgium 2 Turkey 1. Goals: DeGryse 13, Oliviera 38; Yalcin 61. Att.: 30,000.
Aug. 31 in Cardiff
Wales 6 San Marino 0. Goals: Saunders 2, 75, Hughes 25, 54, Melville 33, Robinson 45. Att.: 15,150.
Oct. 5 in Cardiff
Wales 1 Netherlands 3. Goals: Saunders 17; Van Hooydonk 72, 75, R. De Boer 79. Att.: 25,000.
Oct. 9 in Serravalle
San Marino 0 Belgium 3. Goals: Verheyen 10, Nilis 20, 46. Att.: 1,353.
Nov. 9 in Eindhoven
Netherlands 7 Wales 1. Goals: Bergkamp 22, 73, 79, R. De Boer 33, Jonk 34, F. De Boer 45, Cocu 62; Saunders 40. Att.: 27,000.
Nov. 10 in Istanbul
Turkey 7 San Marino 0. Goals: Oktay 24, 38, 50, 60, Hakan 55, 65, Ertugrul 80. Att.: 35,000.
Dec. 14 in Cardiff
Wales 0 Turkey 0. Att.: 14,206.
Dec. 14 in Brussels
Belgium 0 Netherlands 3. Goals: Bergkamp 25, Seedorf 29, Jonk pen. 90. Att.:
36,500.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 9 |
| Wales | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Turkey | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| San Marino | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
Schedule
March 29
Netherlands vs. San Marino; Wales vs. Belgium
April 2
Turkey vs. Netherlands
April 30
Turkey vs. Belgium; San Marino vs. Netherlands
June 7
Belgium vs. San Marino
Aug. 20
Turkey vs. Wales
Sept. 6
Netherlands vs. Belgium
Sept. 10
San Marino vs. Turkey
Oct. 11
Belgium vs. Wales; Netherlands vs. Turkey
Group 8
April 24 in Skopje
Macedonia 3 Liechtenstein 0. Goals: Milosevski 5, Babunski pen. 48, Zaharievski 80. Att.: 12,000.
June 1 in Reykjavik
Iceland 1 Macedonia 1. Goals: Gudjonssen 64; Medi 60. Att.: 5,000.
Aug. 31 in Bucharest
Romania 3 Lithuania 0. Goals: Moldovan 21, Petrescu 65, Galca 77. Att.:
9,000.
Aug. 31 in Eschen
Liechtenstein 0 Ireland 5. Goals: Townsend 5, O’Neill 7, Quinn11, 61, Harte 19. Att.: n/a.
Oct. 5 in Vilnius
Lithuania 2 Iceland 0. Goals: Jankauskas pen. 22, Shlekys 73. Att.: 4,000.
Oct. 9 in Vilnius
Lithuania 2 Liechtenstein 1. Goals: Jankauskas 43, Narbekovas 55; Zech 53. Att.: 5,000.
Oct. 9 in Dublin
Ireland 3 Macedonia 0. Goals: McAteer 8, Cascarino 47, 70. Att.: 31,600.
Oct. 9 in Reykjavik
Iceland 0 Romania 4. Goals: Moldovan 22, Hagi 60, Popescu 75, Petrescu 89. Att.: 4,000.
Nov. 9 in Eschhen
Liechtenstein 1 Macedonia 11. Goals: Schaedler 79; Gavevski 8, 13, 60, Hristov 23, Stojkovski 38, 44, T. Micevski 45, 49, Ciric 54, pen. 88, V. Micevski 90. Att.: 2,600.
Nov. 10 in Dublin
Ireland 0 Iceland 0. Att.: 33,800.
Dec. 14 in Skopje
Macedonia 0 Romania 3. Goals: Popescu 37, 45, pen. 90. Att.: 14,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Romania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Macedonia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 7 |
| Lithuania | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Iceland | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Liechtenstein | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 0 |
Schedule
March 29
Romania vs. Liechtenstein
April 2
Lithuania vs. Romania; Macedonia vs. Ireland
April 30
Liechtenstein vs. Lithuania; Romania vs. Ireland
June 7
Ireland vs. Liechtenstein; Macedonia vs. Iceland
June 11
Iceland vs. Lithuania
Aug. 19
Liechtenstein vs. Iceland
Aug. 20
Ireland vs. Lithuania; Romania vs. Macedonia
Sept. 6
Iceland vs. Ireland; Liechtenstein vs. Romania; Lithuania vs. Macedonia
Sept. 10
Romania vs. Iceland; Lithuania vs. Ireland
Oct. 11
Iceland vs. Liechtenstein; Ireland vs. Romania; Macedonia vs. Lithuania
Group 9
Aug. 31 in Yerevan
Armenia 0 Portugal 0. Att.: 5,000.
Aug. 31 in Belfast
No. Ireland 0 Ukraine 1. Goal: Rebrov 79. Att.: 9,358.
Oct. 5 in Kiev
Ukraine 2 Portugal 1. Goals: Popov 5, Maksimov 88; Figo 83. Att.: 40,000.
Oct. 5 in Belfast
Northern Ireland 1 Armenia 1. Goals: Lennon 30; Adouyan 8. Att.: 8,357.
Oct. 9 in Yerevan
Armenia 1 Germany 5. Goals: Mikaelyan 85; Haessler 20, 39, Klinsmann 26, Bobic 69, Kuntz 80. Att.: 50,000.
Oct. 9 in Tirana
Albania 0 Portugal 3. Goals: Figo 11, Helder 77, Rui Costa 89. Att.: 10,000.
Nov. 9 in Tirana
Albania 1 Armenia 1. Goals: Fraholli 58; Ter-Petrosyan 90. Att.: 7,000.
Nov. 9 in Nuremburg
Germany 1 Northern Ireland 1. Goals: Moeller 41; Taggart 39. Att.: 40,718.
Nov. 9 in Oporto
Portugal 1 Ukraine 0. Goal: Fernando Couto 58. Att.: 30,000.
Dec. 14 in Belfast
Northern Ireland 2 Albania 0. Goals: Dowie 12, 21. Att.: 7,935.
Dec. 14 in Lisbon
Portugal 0 Germany 0. Att.: 50,000.
Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Portugal | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Germany | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| No. Ireland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Armenia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Albania | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Schedule
March 29
Albania vs. Ukraine; No. Ireland vs. Portugal
April 2
Albania vs. Germany; Ukraine vs. No. Ireland
April 30
Germany vs. Ukraine; Armenia vs. No. Ireland
May 6/7
Ukraine vs. Armenia
June 7
Portugal vs. Albania; Ukraine vs. Germany
Aug. 20
No. Ireland vs. Germany; Portugal vs. Armenia; Ukraine vs. Albania
Sept. 6
Germany vs. Portugal; Armenia vs. Albania
Sept. 10
Albania vs. No. Ireland; Germany vs. Armenia
Oct. 11
Germany vs. Albania; Portugal vs. No. Ireland; Armenia vs. Ukraine