1998 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1998 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships were held in Switzerland from 1–17 May 1998. The format expanded to 16 teams for the first time. The teams were divided into four groups of four with the top two teams in each advancing to the next round. The two groups of four then played a round robin with the top two teams in each moving on to the semi-finals. The semi-finals were a two game total goals for series as was the final.

Qualifying Round (Austria)
Played 6–9 November 1997 in Klagenfurt. The Kazakhs, Austrians, and Norwegians finished virtually even. In head-to-head match-ups they each had one win and one loss, they each had scored as many as they had allowed. The Kazakhs scored six goals, the other two both five, pushing them to first. The Norwegians had beaten Poland by three, on the final day the Austrians pushed their advantage over Poland to four, giving them the final spot in the World Championship. Kazakhstan and Austria advanced to Group A, Norway and Poland competed in Group B.

First Round
In each group, the top two nations advanced to the next round. Third place teams played a final round against each other to determine who escaped having to qualify for next year's tournament. Fourth place teams did not play further, they were automatically entered in qualifiers for next year's tournament. The highlight of the round was the French victory of the USA, the first ever in an official match.

Group 1
Japan was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

Group 2
Austria was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

Group 3
France was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

Group 4
Kazakhstan was relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

Consolation Round 9-12 Place
Germany and the USA were relegated to the qualifiers for the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

Second Round
Group 2 and 3 first place teams played against group 1 and 4 second place teams in group 5, group 1 and 4 first place teams played against group 2 and 3 second place teams. The top two, from each group, advanced to the semi-finals.

Ranking and statistics
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Final standings
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:

World Championship Group B (Slovenia)
Played April 15–26 in Ljubljana and Jesenice. Norway, 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. The Ukraine, Slovenia, and Estonia all advanced to qualifiers for Group A, the Netherlands was relegated to Group C. Norway was promoted to Group A as hosts.

World Championship Group C (Hungary)
Played March 22–28 in Budapest, Székesfehérvár and Dunaújváros.

Final Round 25-28 Place
Hungary was promoted to Group B.

Consolation Round 29-32 Place
Spain 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 sealed their fate.

World Championship Group D (South Africa)
Played March 27 to April 2 in Krugersdorp and Pretoria.

Final Round 33-36 Place
Bulgaria was promoted to Group C.