Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian zone (AFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. Format A total of 36 teams entered the competition. The Asian zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. There were three rounds of play: First round: The 36 teams were divided into 10 groups of 3 or 4 teams each. The teams played against each other twice, except in Group 10, where the teams played against each other once. The group winners advanced to the final round. Final round: The 10 teams were divided into 2 groups of 5 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners qualified for the World Cup. The runners-up advanced to the AFC play-off. Play-off: The two teams played against each other once in Malaysia. The winner qualify for the World Cup. The loser advanced to the AFC–OFC intercontinental play-offs. First round Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Final round Group A Group B Play-off The play-off was played over a single leg at a neutral venue. Extra time was played using the golden goal rule. Inter-confederation play-offs Qualified teams The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament. 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year. Goalscorers There were 459 goals scored in 132 matches （including 2 international play-offs）, for an average of 3.53 goals per match. 19 goals Karim Bagheri 14 goals Kazuyoshi Miura 9 goals Ali Daei Choi Yong-soo 8 goals Khodadad Azizi Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi Oleg Shatskikh 7 goals Takuya Takagi Khaled Al-Muwallid 6 goals Hao Haidong Said Bayazid 5 goals Hidetoshi Nakata Jasem Al Huwaidi Ibrahim Al-Shahrani Omar Al Ariki 4 goals Fan Zhiyi Mehdi Mahdavikia Alireza Mansourian Hussam Fawzi Viktor Zubarev Bashar Abdulaziz Nihad Al Boushi Arsen Avakov Khamees Saad Mubarak Ravshan Bozorov Andrei Fyodorov Igor Shkvyrin 3 goals Gao Feng Rocky Putiray Widodo Putro Hamid Estili Reza Shahroudi Laith Hussein Yutaka Akita Wagner Lopes Hiroshi Nanami Boulat Esmagambetov Vladimir Loginov Pavel Yevteyev Sergey Kutsov Ahmed Hassan Mahmoud Soufi Obeid Al-Dosari Fahad Al-Mehallel Kim Do-hoon Lee Sang-yoon Yoo Sang-chul Nader Joukhadar Khaled Al Zaher Shukhrat Dzhaborov Takhirdjon Mouminov Mouslim Agaev Zuhair Bakheet