Set between 1994 and 2006, Iranian Ali Daei's tally of 35 goals in qualifying is a FIFA World Cup™ record.
The striker hit his peak in 1998 as he became the first Asian player to feature in the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich, while his national team's ultimately successful attempt to qualify for France 1998 was boosted by the now 41-year-old's nine goals in 17 matches in the fifa World Cup qualifying campaign. Daei is also international football's all-time highest goalscorer with 109 goals in 149 international games.
