The 1998 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 62nd such event sanctioned by the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

(IIHF). Teams representing 40 countries participated in several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1999 competition.

World Championship Group A

The Championship took place between sixteen teams in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. * (2nd, Qualification Tournament) * (Promoted from Group B) * * * * * * * (Far East Qualifier) * (1st, Qualification Tournament) * * * * * (Host) *

World Championship Group B (Slovenia)

Played 15–26 April in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

and Jesenice.

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, as the next year's host, had already been awarded a spot in Group A. In addition, the top three other finishers advanced to qualifying tournaments for inclusion in Group A. The Estonians came into the final game knowing they could lose by four and still advance. Trailing by three after two, they hung on to edge the Danish team in the standings.Summary at Passionhockey.com
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Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

all advanced to qualifiers for Group A, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

was relegated to Group C.

was promoted to Group A as hosts.''

World Championship Group C (Hungary)

Played 22–28 March in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

and

Dunaújváros Dunaújváros (; also known by #Etymology and names, alternative names) is an industrial city in Fejér County, Central Hungary. It is a city with county rights. Situated 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Budapest on the Danube, the city is best ...

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 25–28 Place

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

was promoted to Group B.''

Consolation Round 29–32 Place

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

was relegated to Group D. The Spanish led by two in both their final games, but tied them, and their earlier loss to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

sealed their fate.''

World Championship Group D (South Africa)

Played 27 March to 2 April in

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ...

and

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 33–36 Place

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

World Championship Group A

World Championship Group B (Slovenia)

World Championship Group C (Hungary)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 25–28 Place

Consolation Round 29–32 Place

World Championship Group D (South Africa)

First round

Group 1

Group 2

Final Round 33–36 Place

Consolation Round 37–40 Place

Citations

References

See also