The third round of CONCACAF matches for 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from August 30, 1996, to December 21, 1996.
A total of 12 teams (six teams given a bye to the third round and the six winners from the second round) were divided into three groups of four teams each.
In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of six matches per team.
[1] The top two teams of each group (three group winners and three runners-up) advanced to the fourth round (also called the 'Hexagonal' or 'Hex').
There were 112 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.11 goals per match.