1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA play-off)
The 1998 FIFA World Cup European Qualification Playoffs were a set of home-and-away playoffs to decide the final four places granted to national football teams from European nations (more precisely, UEFA members) for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
By the rules of the UEFA qualifying tournament, the first-place finishers in each of eight groups received automatic berths, along with the two second-place teams that had earned the most points against teams in the top eight of their individual groups.
The eight remaining second-place teams were divided into two pots based on their standings in the September 1997 FIFA World Rankings. The division was:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
A draw was held on October 1997 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich to pair each team from Pot 1 with a team from Pot 2. A second draw at the same time and location determined the order of the fixtures.
The playoffs were decided by the standard FIFA method of aggregate score, with away goals and, if necessary, extra time with the possibility of a penalty shootout at the end of the second leg. The winner of each playoff was awarded a place in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Matches
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Croatia  |
3–1 |  Ukraine |
2–0 | 1–1 |
Russia  |
1–2 |  Italy |
1–1 | 0–1 |
Republic of Ireland  |
2–3 | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
1–1 | 1–2 |
Hungary  |
1–12 |  Yugoslavia |
1–7 | 0–5 |
First leg
| Hungary |
1–7 | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
Illés  88' |
Report | Brnović 2' Đukić 6'Savićević 10'Mijatović 26', 41', 51'Milošević 63' |
Second leg
Yugoslavia won 12–1 on aggregate.
Croatia won 3–1 on aggregate.
Belgium won 3–2 on aggregate.
Italy won 2–1 on aggregate.