1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
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.
| Qualification for championships (CAF) |
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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
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mauritania .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
0–2 |  Burkina Faso |
0–0 | 0–2 |
Namibia  |
3–1 |  Mozambique |
2–0 | 1–1 |
Malawi  |
0–4 |  South Africa |
0–1 | 0–3 |
Uganda  |
1–5 |  Angola |
0–2 | 1–3 |
Guinea-Bissau  |
4–5 |  Guinea |
3–2 | 1–3 |
Gambia  |
2–5 |  Liberia |
2–1 | 0–4 |
Swaziland  |
0–3 |  Gabon |
0–1 | 0–2 |
Burundi  |
2–0 |  Sierra Leone |
1–0 | 1–0 |
Madagascar  |
3–4 |  Zimbabwe |
1–2 | 2–2 |
Congo  |
3–1 |  Ivory Coast |
2–0 | 1–1 |
Mauritius  |
1–7 |  Zaire |
1–5 | 0–2 |
Rwanda .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
1–5 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Tunisia |
1–3 | 0–2 |
Kenya  |
3–2 |  Algeria |
3–1 | 0–1 |
Togo  |
3–2 |  Senegal |
2–1 | 1–1 |
Sudan  |
2–3 |  Zambia |
2–0 | 0–3 |
Tanzania  |
1–2 |  Ghana |
0–0 | 1–2 |
First Leg
| Namibia | 2–0 | Mozambique |
|---|---|---|
Hoeseb  28'Ortmann 80' |
Report |
| Malawi | 0–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tinkler 21' |
| Guinea-Bissau | 3–2 | Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| Tavares 11', 36' Co 60' (pen.) |
Report | Camara 53', 54' |
| Gambia | 2–1 | Liberia |
|---|---|---|
| Corr 18' (pen.) Sillah 58' |
Report | Debbah 35' (pen.) |
| Burundi | 1–0 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Wambo 85' |
Report |
| Madagascar | 1–2 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Raoelijaona 85' |
Report | Sawu 79' Takawira 89' |
| Congo | 2–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Niere 42' Miyamou 89' |
Report |
| Togo | 2–1 | Senegal |
|---|---|---|
| Oyawolé 31' Noutsoudje 88' |
Report | Traoré 80' |
Second Leg
| Burkina Faso | 2–0 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Ouédraogo 44' Traore 81' |
Report |
Burkina Faso won 2–0 on aggregate
| Mozambique | 1–1 | Namibia |
|---|---|---|
| Macamo 25' |
Report | Khob 84' |
Namibia won 3–1 on aggregate
| South Africa | 3–0 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
| Bartlett 4', 42' Fish 38' |
Report |
South Africa won 4–0 on aggregate
Angola won 5–1 on aggregate
| Guinea | 3–1 | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
| Soumah 33', 59' Bangoura 61' |
Report | Co 47' |
Guinea won 5–4 on aggregate
Liberia won 5–2 on aggregate
Gabon won 3–0 on aggregate
| Sierra Leone | 0–1 | Burundi |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Mbuyi 30' |
Burundi won 2–0 on aggregate but withdrew before the Final Round started, so their place was given to Sierra Leone.
| Zimbabwe | 2–2 | Madagascar |
|---|---|---|
| Zviripayi 52' Takawira 69' |
Report | Ratoanaivo 23' Rasoanaivo 67' |
Zimbabwe won 4–3 on aggregate
| Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Dao 29' |
Report | Imboula 85' |
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
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nigeria |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| Guinea |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| Kenya |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 10 |
| Burkina Faso |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 2–0 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Amokachi 46', 77' |
Report |
| Kenya | 1–1 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Simiyu 22' |
Report | Akpoborie 48' |
| Burkina Faso | 0–2 | Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Oularé 17' Soumah 44' |
Group 2
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunisia |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 16 |
 Egypt |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Liberia |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 4 |
| Namibia |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 4 |
Group 3
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| Congo |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Zambia |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} DR Congo |
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 |
In May 1997, Zaire were renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo DR).
| South Africa | 1–0 | Zaire |
|---|---|---|
| Masinga 67' |
Report |
| Zambia | 0–0 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Congo | 2–0 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Younga-Mouhani 60', 64' |
Report |
| Congo | 1–0 | DR Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Younga-Mouhani 60' |
Report |
| South Africa | 1–0 | Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Masinga 14' |
Report |
Group 4
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cameroon |
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| Angola |
6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Zimbabwe |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 4 |
| Togo |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 4 |
| Togo | 2–4 | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| Noutsoudje 50' Salou 83' (pen.) |
Report | Tchami 10', 24', 55' Missé-Missé 63' |
Group 5
Gabon vs Sierra Leone was not played, since neither team could advance with a win.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Morocco |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 16 |
| Sierra Leone |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 |
| Ghana |
6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Gabon |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 1 |
| Sierra Leone | 1–0 | Gabon |
|---|---|---|
| Kanu 46' |
Report |
| Sierra Leone | 1–1 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Conteh 87' |
Report | A. Kamara 23' (o.g.) |
Match abandoned after 53 minutes due to crowd trouble. FIFA allowed the result to stand
| Sierra Leone | 0–1 | Morocco |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bassir 40' |
| Gabon | P–P | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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
| Ghana | 0–2 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Amidu 14' Kallon 47' |
Qualified teams
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Final Round Group 1 winners | 7 June 1997 | 1 (1994) |
 Tunisia | Final Round Group 2 winners | 8 June 1997 | 1 (1978) |
| South Africa | Final Round Group 3 winners | 16 August 1997 | 0 (debut) |
| Cameroon | Final Round Group 4 winners | 17 August 1997 | 3 (1982, 1990, 1994) |
| Morocco | Final Round Group 5 winners | 8 June 1997 | 3 (1970, 1986, 1994) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
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- 3 goals
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- 2 goals
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- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
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