 The remaining participants were determined through a series of six tournaments run by the continental confederations of world football from 1997 to 1998; these comprised 63 countries playing in 141 matches.FIFA allocated six berths to Europe; three to Asia; two to Africa; and one each to North America (excluding the hosts), Oceania, and South America.Another berth (for Mexico) was determined by a play-off series between the second-place finishers in the North and South American tournaments.