The third round of CONCACAF matches for 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from August 30, 1996, to December 21, 1996.
Format
A total of 12 teams (six teams given a bye to the third round and the six winners from the second round) were divided into three groups of four teams each. In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of six matches per team.[1] The top two teams of each group (three group winners and three runners-up) advanced to the fourth round (also called the 'Hexagonal' or 'Hex').
Qualified teams
Teams with a bye to the third round:
Second round winners:
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 13 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Costa Rica
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Guatemala
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 8 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |
Source: [2]
| Trinidad and Tobago | 0–1 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gómez  54' |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1–1 | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Nixon 37' |
Report | Ramírez 22' |
| United States | 2–0 | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Wynalda 54' McBride 90' |
Report |
| United States | 2–0 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Dooley 53' Wynalda 84' |
Report |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 0–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Moore 36' |
| Guatemala | 1–0 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Plata 34' |
Report |
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (United States)[a]
Attendance: 22,697
Referee: Rafael Rodriguez (El Salvador)
| Costa Rica | 2–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Wanchope 39' López 84' |
Report | Jones 90' |
| Guatemala | 2–1 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Rodas 26', 67' |
Report | Eve 30' |
Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (United States)[a]
Attendance: 24,728
Referee: William Laidlaw (Canada)
| United States | 2–1 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| McBride 16' Lassiter 60' |
Report | Gómez 74' |
| Costa Rica | 2–1 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Wanchope 44', 60' |
Report | Nixon 7' |
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pascual Rebolledo Cárdenas (Mexico)
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 16 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | El Salvador
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 10 | 0–2 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Panama
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Cuba
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 3 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 3–1 | — |
Source: [2]
| Canada | 3–1 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| Aunger 40' Peschisolido 42' Corazzin 87' |
Report | Dely Valdés 49' |
| Cuba | 0–5 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rivera 22', 80' Díaz Arce 49', 72' Cienfuegos 83' |
Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador (El Salvador)
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Gerardo Enrique Mejia Centeno (Honduras)
| Cuba | 3–1 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| Sebrango 42', 70' Bobadilla 88' |
Report | Dely Valdés 55' |
Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City (Panama)
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Olger Mejias Ovares (Costa Rica)
| Panama | 1–1 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Cubillas 43' |
Report | Díaz Arce 51' |
| Canada | 2–0 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Bunbury 29' Peschisolido 53' |
Report |
| Cuba | 0–2 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Peschisolido 15' Dasovic 79' |
Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton (Canada)
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Carlos Mendizabal Euceda (Guatemala)
| Canada | 1–0 | El Salvador |
|---|---|---|
| Bunbury 65' |
Report |
| El Salvador | 3–2 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| Díaz Arce 43' Iraheta 68' Trigueros 88' |
Report | Dely Valdés 11', 86' |
| El Salvador | 0–2 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Watson 62' Bunbury 66' |
Group 3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaica
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 13 | Advanced to the fourth round | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Mexico
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 12 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 3 | Honduras
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 10 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 11–3 | ||
| 4 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 30 | −24 | 0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–4 | — |
Source: [2]
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0–3 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Peláez 15', 51' Álvarez 89' |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1–4 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Chewitt 62' |
Report | Suazo 7', 62' Santamaria 23', 42' |
| Mexico | 5–1 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|---|---|---|
| Galindo 20', 29' Zague 48' Hermosillo 70' Walker 88' (o.g.) |
Report | Velox 88' |
| Jamaica | 5–0 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|---|---|---|
| Whitmore 10', 13' Young 64' Cargill 66' Malcolm 84' |
Report |
| Honduras | 11–3 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|---|---|---|
| Zapata 3' Suazo 11', 38', 50' Cruz 19' Pavón 30' Reneau 48' Membreño 65' Núñez 67', 84'Bennett 77' (pen.) |
Report | Jack 37' Guy 62' Sam 75' |
Attendance: 4,378
Referee: Victor Hugo Rodriguez Ugalde (Costa Rica)
Goalscorers
There were 112 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.11 goals per match.
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Geoff Aunger
- Carlo Corazzin
- Nick Dasovic
- Mark Watson
- Javier Delgado
- Wílmer López
- Hernan Medford
- Manuel Bobadilla
- Lester Moré
- Mauricio Cienfuegos
- Wilfredo Iraheta
- William Renderos
- Jorge Rodríguez
- Giovanni Trigueros
- Juan Manuel Funes
- Rudy Ramírez
- Arnold Cruz
- Merlyn Membreño
- Barrios Zapata
- Peter Cargill
- Ian Goodison
- Stephen Malcolm
- Damián Ariel Álvarez
- Ramón Ramírez
- Juan Carlos Cubillas
- Rubén Guevara
- Víctor René Mendieta
- James Chewitt
- Alwyn Guy
- Christopher Harry
- Rodney Jack
- Everad Sam
- Kendall Velox
- Angus Eve
- Thomas Dooley
- Frankie Hejduk
- Cobi Jones
- Roy Lassiter
- Joe-Max Moore
- Preki
1 own goal
- Dexter Walker (against Mexico)
Notes
- ^ a b c Guatemala played their home matches in Los Angeles and San Salvador after FIFA prevented international matches from being held at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City following the disaster on October 16, 1996, in which over 80 people died due to structural flaws and overcrowding.[3]
References
- ^ "1998 FIFA World Cup France - Qualifiers - North, Central America and Caribbean". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) 1998, football - tables and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ Torres, Alexander. ""El "Mateo Flores" se reabre para competencia oficial de selecciones - Con la tragedia en la memoria"" (in Spanish). La Prensa Gráfica Online. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2006.