Asia Football Confederation Preliminary Round Qualification

The preliminary round of the Asian Football Confederation World Cup France '98 began in September of 1996, and concluded on 24 August 1997. During this time, the field was narrowed down to ten nations from 36, with the following nations advancing to the semifinal round: Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Kuwait, China, Kazkhstan, and Qatar.

Each group was responsible for selecting its own method of determining a winner, as well as creating the schedule of play for their own group. Groups One, Two, Three, and Four are using two round-robin tournaments to determine their winners. Group Ten used a single round robin format. The remaining groups are using a double round-robin, home-and-home format to determine their winners.

Group One
Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Bangledesh
Group Two
Kirgizstan, Iran, Maldives, Syria
Group Three
Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain
Group Four
Japan, Oman, Nepal, Macao
Group Five
Cambodia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Group Six
South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong
Group Seven
Kuwait, Lebanon, Singapore
Group Eight
China, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam
Group Nine
Iraq, Pakistan, Kazakhstan
Group Ten
Qatar, Sri Lanka, India, Philippines

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