1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1998 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Brazil, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition between 9 teams. This was the first World Cup qualifying competition to involve all of the yet-unqualified teams in the confederation playing
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification nation and defending champions, respectively. The remaining 30 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 174 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. "12 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2002 finals: Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Iran, Jamaica, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland and Yugoslavia." The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was: 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: A total of 38 CAF teams entered the