Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African zone (CAF). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. A total of 38 CAF teams entered the competition. However, Mali and Niger both withdrew before the draw was made. The African Zone was allocated five places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Summary There would be two rounds of play: First Round: Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt, the four highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the Final Round directly. The remaining 32 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round. Final Round: The 20 teams were divided into five groups of four teams each. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. These were: First round |} First Leg Second Leg Burkina Faso won 2–0 on aggregate Namibia won 3–1 on aggregate South Africa won 4–0 on aggregate Angola won 5–1 on aggregate Guinea won 5–4 on aggregate Liberia won 5–2 on aggregate Gabon won 3–0 on aggregate Burundi won 2–0 on aggregate but withdrew before the Final Round started, so their place was given to Sierra Leone. Zimbabwe won 4–3 on aggregate Congo won 3–1 on aggregate Zaire won 7–1 on aggregate Tunisia won 5–1 on aggregate Kenya won 3–2 on aggregate Togo won 3–2 on aggregate Zambia won 3–2 on aggregate Ghana won 2–1 on aggregate Final round Key: Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 In May 1997, Zaire were renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo DR). Group 4 Group 5 Gabon vs Sierra Leone was not played, since neither team could advance with a win. Match abandoned after 53 minutes due to crowd trouble. FIFA allowed the result to stand Match postponed due to Sierra Leone not being able to travel from Freetown due to conflict. The match was never rearranged due to the result having no effect on final group standings Qualified teams The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament. 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year. Goalscorers There were 229 goals scored in 91 matches, for an average of 2.52 goals per match. 5