<Tr> <Th> Top scorer (s) </Th> <Td> Mohammad Al - Sahlawi Ahmed Khalil (16 goals each) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ← 2014 2022 → All statistics correct as of 10 October 2017 (including any matches not played but awarded). </Td> </Tr> <P> The Asian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A total of 4.5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play - off slot) in the final tournament were available for AFC teams . </P> <P> On 16 April 2014, the AFC Executive Committee approved a proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, which will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019 . Therefore, the first two rounds of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers also acted as qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates . </P>

How many teams will qualify for world cup from asia