First Round
Melanesian Group
Sept. 16 in Lae, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea 1 Solon Islands 1. Goals: n/a. Att.: n/a.
Sept. 18 in Lae, Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands 1 Vanuatu 1. Goals: n/a. Att.: 1,500.
Sept. 20 in Lae, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea 2 Vanuatu 1. Goals: Furigi 88, Karong 89; Garo. Att.: 7,500.
Final Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Papua New Guinea | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Solomon Islands | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Vanuatu | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
o Papua New Guinea advances to second round; Solomon Islands meets Tongo in a playoff.
Polynesian Group
Nov. 11 in Nuku’alofa, Tonga
Tonga 2 Cook Islands 0. Goalscorers: n/a. Att.: n/a.
Nov. 13 in Nuku’alofa, Tonga
Western Samoa 2 Cook Islands 1. Goals: Tapunu’u 10, Michael 20; Mani 68. Att.:
n/a.
Nov. 15 in Nuku’alofa, Tonga
Tonga 1 Western Samoa 0. Goal: n/a. Att.: n/a.
Final Standings
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Tonga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| W. Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Cook Islands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
o Tonga advances to face the Solomon Islands for a place in the second round of Oceania qualifying. Playoff is over two legs Feb. 15 and Mar. 1/2.
Second Round
Group 1
Australia, Tahiti, Tongo/Solomon Islands winner.
Group 2
Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea.
The winners of the two groups will play each other home-and-away, with the winner advancing to another two-leg playoff against the fourth-place team from Asia. The winner of this playoff advances to France ’98.