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.

[Result:

{{legend|#0000ff|Countries that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup}}{{legend|#cc0000|Countries that did not qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup}}{{legend|black|Countries that did not enter, withdrew or were disqualified|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/1998///FIFA///WC///qualifying///Africa///Teams///map.png]

Summary

There would be two rounds of play:

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:

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.

Goalscorers

There were 229 goals scored in 91 matches, for an average of 2.52 goals per match.