FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 similar games & best alternatives

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_1.avif
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_2.avif
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_3.avif
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_4.avif
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_5.avif
FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 - fifa-road-to-world-cup-98_6.avif

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98

Nintendo 64, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation • 1997

Should you play it?

The late-1997 edition of FIFA was heavily tied in with the qualifying procedure for the 1998 World Cup. In the Road to the World Cup mode, you take a team from first qualification through to the main tournament, using the varying systems in different parts of the world. The game features 16 distinct outdoor stadia. The League play features 189 clubs and 11 leagues. Each team has specific crowd chants incorporated into the ambient sound. The action is faster than in previous versions, and AI has been expanded. Players have distinct facial feature and hair styles. Each match is introduced by Des Lynam and commentated on by John Motson and former Scotland international Andy Gray.

What works

  • Extensive licensed teams and leagues
  • Engaging road to world cup mode with authentic qualification
  • Smooth and expressive gameplay with skill moves
  • Robust multiplayer and team customization
  • Iconic soundtrack and dynamic commentary

Things to keep in mind

  • Ai can be uneven and occasionally unfair
  • Graphics and player models dated by modern standards
  • Some control complexity and learning curve
  • Goalkeeper ai sometimes erratic
  • Indoor mode not continued in later games

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

Less violent

Games that feels like FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 but with less combat and destruction

Less story-driven

Games that feels like FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 but with less narrative immersion

More fantastical

Games that feels like FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 but with more imaginative fiction

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. These titles are not in What to play next.

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Leadership. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy.

Last update: 02/09/2026