FRANCE 98 – Format of the Tournament
172 teams participated in the preliminary competition for the 16th FIFA World Cup. The draw for the preliminary competition took place in December 1995 in Paris. From March 1996 to November 1997, the qualification matches were held on the different continents to determine the 30 countries qualified for FRANCE 98. France (the hosts) and Brazil (the previous World Champions) qualified automatically, for a total of 32 teams in the Final Phase.
The draw for the final phase (“The Final Draw”) took place on 4 December, 1997, in Marseille.
The FRANCE 98 World Cup is innovative, with 64 matches on the program (48 of them in the first phase) and 32 nations taking part, instead of the 24 nations in previous years.
8 Groups of 4 Teams
The Final Draw process divided the 32 teams into 8 groups with 4 teams in each Group. Prior to The Final Draw (which took place on 4 December, 1997), FIFA announced the 8 teams who are seeded first in their groups. The remaining teams in the groups are decided by drawing lots.Click here to see the results of the Final Draw and the 8 Groups.
During Stage 1, each team plays the 3 other teams within their respective group. The point system for Stage 1 works as follows:
3 points for a win 1 point for a draw
no points for a defeat.
Within each group, the Winner of the Group and the Runner-up proceed to Stage 2 (the other 2 teams are eliminated). Qualification for Stage 2 is determined by the following factors (in order):
1. Number of points 2. Goal difference 3. Goals scored 4. Score of direct encounter
5. Drawing lots
The last two matches in each group take place at the same time on the same day.
During Stage 2 matches are played in a tournament system: The winner proceeds to the next round and the losing team is eliminated from the competition. The sixteen teams (that moved on to Stage 2 from Stage 1) play each other as follows:
Group A Winners v. Group B runners-up = 1 Group B Winners v. Group A runners-up = 2 Group C Winners v. Group D runners-up = 3 Group D Winners v. Group C runners-up = 4 Group E Winners v. Group F runners-up = 5 Group F Winners v. Group E runners-up = 6 Group G Winners v. Group H runners-up = 7
Group H Winners v. Group G runners-up = 8
During Stage 2, the ‘Golden Goal’ rule will be used in the event of a tie at the end of regulation time.
Click here to see the calendar of matches for Stage 2
Quarter Finals
The quarter finals are played as follows:Winner 1 v. Winner 4 = A Winner 2 v. Winner 3 = B Winner 5 v. Winner 8 = C
Winner 6 v. Winner 7 = D
Semi-Finals
The semi-finals are played as follows:Winner A v. Winner C
Winner B v. Winner DThe Final
The winners of the two Semi-Final matches meet in the Final.3rd / 4th Place Play-off
The losers of the two semi-finals meet to determine the 3rd place and 4th place rankings.During Stage 2, the ‘Goal Goal’ rule will apply.
At the end of regulation time (90 minutes), if the match is a draw then 30 minutes of extra-time will be played. During the 30 minutes of extra-time, the first team to score wins the game. If no goal is scored during extra time, penalty kicks shall be taken to determine the winner.
For more information about the official rules and regulations for the 16th FIFA World Cup, please refer to the official information from FIFA at www.FIFA.com.