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1998 FIFA World Cup
Coupe du Monde - France 98
France98
1998 FIFA World Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host countryFlag of France France
Dates10 June – 12 July
Teams32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of France France (1st title)
Runner-upBrazil Brazil
Third placeRomania Romania
Fourth placeNetherlands Netherlands
Tournament statistics
Matches played64
Goals scored171 (2.67 per match)
Attendance2,785,100 (43,517 per match)
Top scorer(s)Flag of Croatia Davor Šuker (6 goals)
Best playerFlag of Brazil Ronaldo
1994
2002

The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the second time that France staged the competition (the first was in 1938), and the ninth time that it was held in Europe.

Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997. For the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis.

The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3–0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals.

Host selection[]

France was awarded the 1998 World Cup on 2 July 1992 by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. They defeated Morocco by 12 votes to 7. Switzerland withdrew, due to being unable to meet FIFA's requirements. This made France the third country to host two World Cups, after Mexico and Italy in 1986 and 1990 respectively. France previously hosted the third edition of the World Cup in 1938. England, who hosted the competition in 1966 and won it, were among the original applicants, but later withdrew their application in favour of an ultimately successful bid to host Euro 96.

Voting results
Country Round 1
Flag of France France 12
Flag of Morocco Morocco 7

Bribery and corruption investigations[]

On 4 June 2015, while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and the other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed in order to promote the France 1998 and 2010 World Cups. Blazer stated that "we facilitated 'bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for France the 1998 World Cup".

Qualification[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, Paris on 12 December 1995. As tournament hosts, France was exempt from the draw as was Brazil the defending champions. 174 teams from six confederations participated, up 24 from the previous round. In Europe, fourteen countries qualified excluding France. Ten were determined after group play, nine group winners and the best second-placed team. The other eight group runners-up were drawn into pairs of four play-off matches – the winners of which qualifying for the finals as well. Five places were granted by CONMEBOL and CAF each, the governing bodies of South America and Africa respectively while three spots were contested between 30 teams through CONCACAF – the governing body in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner of the Oceanian zone advanced through to an intercontinental play-off against the runner-up of the Asian play-off, determined by the two best second placed teams.

Four nations qualified for the World Cup for the first time: Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa. The last team to qualify was Iran by virtue of beating Australia in a two-legged tie on 29 November 1997. It marked their first appearance in the finals since 1978, the last time Tunisia also qualified for the tournament. Chile qualified for the first time since 1982. Paraguay and Denmark qualified for the first time since 1986. Austria, England, Scotland and Yugoslavia return after missing only one final tournament. Among the teams who failed to qualify were two-time winners Uruguay for the second successive tournament and Sweden who finished third in 1994. Russia failed to qualify for the first time since 1978, where they contested as the USSR, after losing to Italy in the play-off round. As of 2014, this is the last time Scotland, Morocco, Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Jamaica have qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals.

List of qualified teams[]

The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament.

AFC (4)
CAF (5)
OFC (0)

CONCACAF (3)
CONMEBOL (5)

UEFA (15)

1998 world cup qualification

  Countries qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Countries that did not enter World Cup
  Country not a FIFA member

Venues[]

France's bid to host the World Cup centered on a national stadium with 80,000 seats and nine other stadiums located across the country. When the finals were originally awarded in July 1992, none of the regional club grounds were of a capacity meeting FIFA's requirements – namely being able to safely seat 40,000. The proposed national stadium, colloquially referred to as the 'Grand stade' met with controversy at every stage of planning; the stadium's location was determined by politics, finance and national symbolism. As Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac successfully negotiated a deal with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to bring the Stade de France – as it was named now, to the commune of Saint-Denis just north of the capital city. Construction on the stadium started in December 1995 and was completed after 26 months of work in November 1997 at a cost of ₣2.67 billion.

The choice of stadium locations was drafted from an original list of 14 cities. FIFA and CFO monitored the progress and quality of preparations, culminating in the former providing final checks of the grounds weeks before the tournament commenced. Montpellier was the surprise inclusion from the final list of cities because of its low urban hierarchy in comparison to Strasbourg, who boasted a better hierarchy and success from its local football team, having been taken over by a consortium. Montpellier however was considered ambitious by the selecting panel to host World Cup matches. The local city and regional authories in particular had invested heavily into football the previous two decades and were able to measure economic effects, in terms of jobs as early as in 1997. Some of the venues used for this tournament were also used for the previous World Cup in France in 1938. The Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, the Stade Municipal in Toulouse, the Gerland in Lyon, the Parc Lescure in Bordeaux and the Parc des Princes in Paris received the honor of hosting World Cup matches once again in 1998 as they had all done in 1938.

10 stadiums in total were used for the finals; in addition to nine matches being played at the Stade de France, a further eight took place in Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes. The hosts France played 4 of their 7 matches in the national stadium; they also played in the second and third largest French cities of Marseille and Lyon respectively; they also played a Round of 16 knockout match in the northern city of Lens.

Saint-Denis Marseille Paris Lyon
Stade de France Stade Vélodrome Parc des Princes Stade de Gerland
Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 48,875 Capacity: 44,000
Finale Coupe de France 2010-2011 (Lille LOSC vs Paris SG PSG) Vue du virage Depé Paris-Parc-des-Princes Stade-Gerland-RWC2007
Lens Stade Félix-Bollaert
Capacity: 41,300
Stade Felix-Bollaert
Nantes
Stade de la Beaujoire
Capacity: 39,500
Stade de la Beaujoire
Toulouse Saint-Étienne Bordeaux Montpellier
Stadium de Toulouse Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Parc Lescure Stade de la Mosson
Capacity: 37,000 Capacity: 36,000 Capacity: 35,200 Capacity: 34,000
Stadium TFC LOSC mai2013 2 Stade-GeoffroyGuichard-RWC2007 Stade Chaban-Delmas Australie-Fidji.4

Innovations[]

Technologies[]

This was the first World Cup that fourth officials used electronic boards, instead of cardboard.

Rule changes[]

This was the first World Cup since the introduction of golden goals, banning of tackles from behind and allowance of three substitutions per game.

Match officials[]

34 referees and 33 assistants officiated in the 1998 World Cup. As a result of the extension to 32 teams in the finals, there was an increase of 10 referees and 11 officials from the 1994 World Cup.

CAF (5)
  • Flag of Morocco Said Belqola
  • Flag of Egypt Gamal Al-Ghandour
  • Flag of Niger Lucien Bouchardeau
  • Flag of Mauritius Lim Kee Chong
  • Flag of South Africa Ian McLeod
AFC (4)
  • Flag of Saudi Arabia Abdul Rahman Al-Zaid
  • Flag of United Arab Emirates Ali Bujsaim
  • Flag of Japan Masayoshi Okada
  • Flag of Thailand Pirom Un-Prasert

UEFA (15)
  • Flag of France Marc Batta
  • Flag of Austria Günter Benkö
  • Flag of Italy Pierluigi Collina
  • Flag of Scotland Hugh Dallas
  • Flag of England Paul Durkin
  • Flag of Spain José María García-Aranda
  • Flag of Germany Bernd Heynemann
  • Flag of Russia Nikolai Levnikov
  • Flag of Switzerland Urs Meier
  • Flag of Portugal Vítor Melo Pereira
  • Flag of Denmark Kim Milton Nielsen
  • Flag of Norway Rune Pedersen
  • Flag of Hungary László Vágner
  • Flag of Netherlands Mario van der Ende
  • Flag of Poland Ryszard Wójcik

CONCACAF (3)
  • Flag of United States Esfandiar Baharmast
  • Flag of Mexico Arturo Brizio Carter
  • Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Ramesh Ramdhan
OFC (1)
  • Flag of Australia Eddie Lennie
CONMEBOL (6)
  • Flag of Argentina Javier Castrilli
  • Flag of Paraguay Epifanio González
  • Flag of Brazil Márcio Rezende de Freitas
  • Flag of Chile Mario Sánchez Yanten
  • Flag of Peru Alberto Tejada Noriega
  • Flag of Colombia John Toro Rendón

Seeds[]

Pot A Pot B Pot C Pot D

Squads[]

As with the preceding tournament, each team's squad for the 1998 World Cup finals consisted of 22 players. Each participating national association had to confirm their final 22-player squad by 1 June 1998.

Out of the 704 players participating in the 1998 World Cup, 447 were signed up with a European club; 90 in Asia, 67 in South America, 61 in Northern and Central America and 37 in Africa. 75 played their club football in England – five more than Italy and Spain. Barcelona of Spain was the club contributing to the most players in the tournament with 13 players on their side.

The average age of all teams was 27 years, 8 months – five months older than the previous tournament. Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon was the youngest player selected in the competition at 17 years, 3 months, while the oldest was Jim Leighton of Scotland at 39 years, 11 months.

Results[]

Group stage[]

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

In the following tables:

  • Pld = total games played
  • W = total games won
  • D = total games drawn (tied)
  • L = total games lost
  • GF = total goals scored (goals for)
  • GA = total goals conceded (goals against)
  • GD = goal difference (GF−GA)
  • Pts = total points accumulated
Key to colours in group tables
Group winners and runners-up advance to the Round of 16

Group A[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group A

Defending champions Brazil won Group A after only two matches as the nation achieved victories over Scotland (2–1) and Morocco (3–0). Heading into the third game, Brazil had nothing to play for but still started its regulars against Norway, who was looking to upset Brazil once again. Needing a victory, Norway overturned a 1–0 deficit with 12 minutes remaining to defeat Brazil 2–1, with Kjetil Rekdal scoring the winning penalty to send Norway into the knockout stage for the first time.

Norway's victory denied Morocco a chance at the Round of 16, despite winning 3–0 against Scotland. It was only Morocco's second ever victory at a World Cup, having recorded its only previous win 12 years earlier on 11 June 1986.

Scotland managed only one point, coming in a 1–1 draw against Norway, and failed to get out of the first round for an eighth time in the FIFA World Cup, a record that stands to this date.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Brazil Brazil 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6
Flag of Norway Norway 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5
Morocco Morocco 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
Scotland Scotland 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
10 June 1998
Brazil Brazil 2–1 Scotland Scotland Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Morocco Morocco 2–2 Flag of Norway Norway Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
16 June 1998
Scotland Scotland 1–1 Flag of Norway Norway Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Brazil Brazil 3–0 Morocco Morocco Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
23 June 1998
Brazil Brazil 1–2 Flag of Norway Norway Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Scotland Scotland 0–3 Morocco Morocco Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne

Group B[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group B
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Italy Italy 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
Flag of CHI Chile 3 0 3 0 4 4 0 3
Flag of Austria Austria 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
Flag of Cameroon Cameroon 3 0 2 1 2 5 −3 2
11 June 1998
Italy Flag of Italy 2–2 Flag of CHI Chile Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Cameroon Flag of Cameroon 1–1 Flag of Austria Austria Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
17 June 1998
Chile Flag of CHI 1–1 Flag of Austria Austria Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Italy Flag of Italy 3–0 Flag of Cameroon Cameroon Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
23 June 1998
Italy Flag of Italy 2–1 Flag of Austria Austria Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Chile Flag of CHI 1–1 Flag of Cameroon Cameroon Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

Group C[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group C
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of France France 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 9
Flag of Denmark Denmark 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Flag of South Africa South Africa 3 0 2 1 3 6 −3 2
Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1
12 June 1998
Saudi Arabia Flag of Saudi Arabia 0–1 Flag of Denmark Denmark Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
France Flag of France 3–0 Flag of South Africa South Africa Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
18 June 1998
South Africa Flag of South Africa 1–1 Flag of Denmark Denmark Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
France Flag of France 4–0 Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Stade de France, Saint-Denis
24 June 1998
France Flag of France 2–1 Flag of Denmark Denmark Stade de Gerland, Lyon
South Africa Flag of South Africa 2–2 Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Parc Lescure, Bordeaux

Group D[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group D
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Nigeria 001 Nigeria 3 2 0 1 5 5 0 6
Flag of Paraguay Paraguay 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5
Flag of Spain Spain 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4 4
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1
12 June 1998
Paraguay Flag of Paraguay 0–0 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
13 June 1998
Spain Flag of Spain 2–3 Flag of Nigeria 001 Nigeria Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
19 June 1998
Nigeria Flag of Nigeria 001 1–0 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Parc des Princes, Paris
Spain Flag of Spain 0–0 Flag of Paraguay Paraguay Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
24 June 1998
Nigeria Flag of Nigeria 001 1–3 Flag of Paraguay Paraguay Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Spain Flag of Spain 6–1 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens

Group E[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group E
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Netherlands Netherlands 3 1 2 0 7 2 +5 5
Flag of Mexico Mexico 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 5
Belgium Belgium 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
South Korea South Korea 3 0 1 2 2 9 −7 1
13 June 1998
South Korea South Korea 1–3 Flag of Mexico Mexico Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Netherlands Netherlands 0–0 Belgium Belgium Stade de France, Saint-Denis
20 June 1998
Belgium Belgium 2–2 Flag of Mexico Mexico Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Netherlands Netherlands 5–0 South Korea South Korea Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
25 June 1998
Netherlands Netherlands 2–2 Flag of Mexico Mexico Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Belgium Belgium 1–1 South Korea South Korea Parc des Princes, Paris

Group F[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group F
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Germany Germany 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 7
Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
Iran Iran 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
Flag of the United States United States 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
14 June 1998
FR Yugoslavia Flag of FR Yugoslavia 1–0 Iran Iran Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
15 June 1998
Germany Germany 2–0 Flag of the United States United States Parc des Princes, Paris
21 June 1998
Germany Germany 2–2 Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
United States Flag of the United States 1–2 Iran Iran Stade de Gerland, Lyon
25 June 1998
United States Flag of the United States 0–1 Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Germany Germany 2–0 Iran Iran Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier

Group G[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group G
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Romania Romania 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
England England 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
Flag of Colombia Colombia 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 3
Flag of Tunisia Tunisia 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
15 June 1998
England England 2–0 Flag of Tunisia Tunisia Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Romania Romania 1–0 Flag of Colombia Colombia Stade de Gerland, Lyon
22 June 1998
Colombia Flag of Colombia 1–0 Flag of Tunisia Tunisia Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Romania Romania 2–1 England England Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
26 June 1998
Colombia Flag of Colombia 0–2 England England Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
Romania Romania 1–1 Flag of Tunisia Tunisia Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Group H[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group H
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Argentina Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9
Croatia Croatia 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
Flag of Jamaica Jamaica 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
Flag of Japan Japan 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
14 June 1998
Argentina Flag of Argentina 1–0 Flag of Japan Japan Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Jamaica Flag of Jamaica 1–3 Croatia Croatia Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
20 June 1998
Japan Flag of Japan 0–1 Croatia Croatia Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
21 June 1998
Argentina Flag of Argentina 5–0 Flag of Jamaica Jamaica Parc des Princes, Paris
26 June 1998
Argentina Flag of Argentina 1–0 Croatia Croatia Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Japan Flag of Japan 1–2 Flag of Jamaica Jamaica Stade de Gerland, Lyon

Knockout stage[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage comprised the sixteen teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. There were four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds were the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. There was also a play-off to decide third and fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes was followed by 30 minutes of extra time; if scores were still level, there was a penalty shoot-out to determine who progressed to the next round. Golden goal comes into play if a team scores during extra time, thus becoming the winner which concludes the game.

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                           
27 June – Paris            
 Brazil Brazil  4
3 July – Nantes
 Flag of CHI Chile  1  
 Brazil Brazil  3
28 June – Saint-Denis
   Flag of Denmark Denmark  2  
 Flag of Nigeria 001 Nigeria  1
7 July – Marseille
 Flag of Denmark Denmark  4  
 Brazil Brazil (p)  1 (4)
29 June – Toulouse
   Netherlands Netherlands  1 (2)  
 Netherlands Netherlands  2
4 July – Marseille
 Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia  1  
 Netherlands Netherlands  2
30 June – St. Étienne
   Flag of Argentina Argentina  1  
 Flag of Argentina Argentina (p)  2 (4)
12 July – Saint-Denis
 England England  2 (3)  
 Brazil Brazil  0
27 June – Marseille
   Flag of France France  3
 Flag of Italy Italy  1
3 July – Saint-Denis
 Flag of Norway Norway  0  
 Flag of Italy Italy  0 (3)
28 June – Lens
   Flag of France France (p)  0 (4)  
 Flag of France France (aet)  1
8 July – Saint-Denis
 Flag of Paraguay Paraguay  0  
 Flag of France France  2
29 June – Montpellier
   Croatia Croatia  1   Third place
 Germany Germany  2
4 July – Lyon 11 July – Paris
 Flag of Mexico Mexico  1  
 Germany Germany  0  Netherlands Netherlands  1
30 June – Bordeaux
   Croatia Croatia  3    Croatia Croatia  2
 Romania Romania  0
 Croatia Croatia  1  

Round of 16[]

27 June 1998
16:30
Italy Flag of Italy 1–0 Flag of Norway Norway Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)
Vieri Goal 18' Report

27 June 1998
21:00
Brazil Brazil 4–1 Flag of CHI Chile Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Marc Batta (France)
César Sampaio Goal 11'27'
Ronaldo Goal 45+1' (pen.)70'
Report Salas Goal 68'

28 June 1998
16:30
France Flag of France 1–0
(a.e.t.)
Flag of Paraguay Paraguay Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)
Blanc Golden goal 114' Report

28 June 1998
21:00
Nigeria Flag of Nigeria 001 1–4 Flag of Denmark Denmark Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 77,000
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)
Babangida Goal 78' Report Møller Goal 3'
B. Laudrup Goal 12'
Sand Goal 60'
Helveg Goal 76'

29 June 1998
16:30
Germany Germany 2–1 Flag of Mexico Mexico Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Attendance: 29,800
Referee: Vítor Melo Pereira (Portugal)
Klinsmann Goal 75'
Bierhoff Goal 86'
Report Hernández Goal 47'

29 June 1998
21:00
Netherlands Netherlands 2–1 Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 33,500
Referee: José Garcia Aranda (Spain)
Bergkamp Goal 38'
Davids Goal 90+2'
Report Komljenović Goal 48'

30 June 1998
16:30
Romania Romania 0–1 Croatia Croatia Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)
Report Šuker Goal 45+2' (pen.)

30 June 1998
21:00
Argentina Flag of Argentina 2–2
(a.e.t.)
England England Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Attendance: 30,600
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
Batistuta Goal 6' (pen.)
Zanetti Goal 45+1'
Report Shearer Goal 10' (pen.)
Owen Goal 16'
  Penalties  
Berti Soccerball shad check
Crespo Missed
Verón Soccerball shad check
Gallardo Soccerball shad check
Ayala Soccerball shad check
4–3 Soccerball shad check Shearer
Missed Ince
Soccerball shad check Merson
Soccerball shad check Owen
Missed Batty

Quarter-finals[]

3 July 1998
16:30
Italy Flag of Italy 0–0
(a.e.t.)
Flag of France France Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 77,000
Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)
Report
  Penalties  
R. Baggio Soccerball shad check
Albertini Missed
Costacurta Soccerball shad check
Vieri Soccerball shad check
Di Biagio Missed
3–4 Soccerball shad check Zidane
Missed Lizarazu
Soccerball shad check Trezeguet
Soccerball shad check Henry
Soccerball shad check Blanc

3 July 1998
21:00
Brazil Brazil 3–2 Flag of Denmark Denmark Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 35,500
Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
Bebeto Goal 11'
Rivaldo Goal 27'60'
Report Jørgensen Goal 2'
B. Laudrup Goal 50'

4 July 1998
16:30
Netherlands Netherlands 2–1 Flag of Argentina Argentina Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)
Kluivert Goal 12'
Bergkamp Goal 90'
Report López Goal 17'

4 July 1998
21:00
Germany Germany 0–3 Croatia Croatia Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Rune Pedersen (Norway)
Report Jarni Goal 45+3'
Vlaović Goal 80'
Šuker Goal 85'

Semi-finals[]

7 July 1998
21:00
Brazil Brazil 1–1
(a.e.t.)
Netherlands Netherlands Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)
Ronaldo Goal 46' Report Kluivert Goal 87'
  Penalties  
Ronaldo Soccerball shad check
Rivaldo Soccerball shad check
Emerson Soccerball shad check
Dunga Soccerball shad check
4–2 Soccerball shad check F. de Boer
Soccerball shad check Bergkamp
Missed Cocu
Missed R. de Boer

8 July 1998
21:00
France Flag of France 2–1 Croatia Croatia Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 76,000
Referee: José Garcia Aranda (Spain)
Thuram Goal 47'69' Report Šuker Goal 46'

Third place match[]

Croatia beat the Netherlands to earn third place in the competition. Davor Šuker scored the winner in the 35th minute to secure the golden boot.

11 July 1998
21:00
Netherlands Netherlands 1–2 Croatia Croatia Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)
Zenden Goal 21' Report Prosinečki Goal 13'
Šuker Goal 35'

Final[]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Final

The final was held on 12 July 1998 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis. France defeated holders Brazil 3–0, with two goals from Zinedine Zidane and a stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit. The win gave France their first World Cup title, becoming the sixth national team after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina to win the tournament on their home soil. They also inflicted the second-heaviest World Cup defeat on Brazil, later to be topped by their 7-1 defeat by Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The pre-match build up was dominated by the omission of Brazilian striker Ronaldo from the starting lineup only to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off. He managed to create the first open chance for Brazil in the 22nd minute, dribbling past defender Thuram before sending a cross out on the left side that goalkeeper Fabien Barthez struggled to hold onto. France however took the lead after Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos conceded a corner which Zidane scored via a header. Three minutes before half-time, Zidane scored his second goal of the match, similarly another header from a corner. The tournament hosts went down to ten men in the 68th minute as Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second bookable offence. Brazil reacted to this by making an attacking substitution and although they applied pressure France sealed the win with a third goal: substitute Patrick Vieira set up his club teammate Petit in a counterattack to shoot low past goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel.

French president Jacques Chirac was in attendance to congratulate and commiserate the winners and runners-up respectively after the match. Several days after the victory, winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team with immediate effect.

12 July 1998
21:00
Brazil Brazil 0–3 Flag of France France Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Said Belqola (Morocco)
Report Zidane Goal 27'45+1'
Petit Goal 90+3'

Statistics[]

Goalscorers[]

Davor Šuker received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 171 goals were scored by 112 different players, with six of them credited as own goals.

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
  • Flag of Brazil Ronaldo
  • Flag of Chile Marcelo Salas
  • Flag of Mexico Luis Hernández
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
  • Flag of Argentina Claudio López
  • Flag of Argentina Mauricio Pineda
  • Flag of Argentina Javier Zanetti
  • Flag of Austria Andreas Herzog
  • Flag of Austria Toni Polster
  • Flag of Austria Ivica Vastić
  • Flag of Belgium Luc Nilis
  • Flag of Bulgaria Emil Kostadinov
  • Flag of Cameroon Patrick M'Boma
  • Flag of Cameroon Pierre Njanka
  • Flag of Chile José Luis Sierra
  • Flag of Colombia Léider Preciado
  • Flag of Croatia Robert Jarni
  • Flag of Croatia Mario Stanić
  • Flag of Croatia Goran Vlaović
  • Flag of Denmark Thomas Helveg
  • Flag of Denmark Martin Jørgensen
  • Flag of Denmark Michael Laudrup
  • Flag of Denmark Peter Møller
  • Flag of Denmark Allan Nielsen
  • Flag of Denmark Marc Rieper
  • Flag of Denmark Ebbe Sand
  • Flag of England Darren Anderton
  • Flag of England David Beckham
  • Flag of England Paul Scholes
  • Flag of France Laurent Blanc
  • Flag of France Youri Djorkaeff
  • Flag of France Christophe Dugarry
  • Flag of France Bixente Lizarazu
  • Flag of France David Trezeguet
  • Flag of Germany Andreas Möller
  • Flag of Iran Mehdi Mahdavikia
  • Flag of Iran Hamid Estili
  • Flag of Italy Luigi Di Biagio
  • Flag of Jamaica Robbie Earle
  • Flag of Japan Masashi Nakayama
  • Flag of Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco
  • Flag of Mexico Alberto García Aspe
  • Flag of Morocco Mustapha Hadji
  • Flag of Netherlands Edgar Davids
  • Flag of Netherlands Marc Overmars
  • Flag of Netherlands Pierre van Hooijdonk
  • Flag of Netherlands Boudewijn Zenden
  • Flag of Nigeria Mutiu Adepoju
  • Flag of Nigeria Tijani Babangida
  • Flag of Nigeria Victor Ikpeba
  • Flag of Nigeria Sunday Oliseh
  • Flag of Nigeria Wilson Oruma
  • Flag of Norway Dan Eggen
  • Flag of Norway Håvard Flo
  • Flag of Norway Tore André Flo
  • Flag of Norway Kjetil Rekdal
  • Flag of Paraguay Celso Ayala
  • Flag of Paraguay Miguel Ángel Benítez
  • Flag of Paraguay José Cardozo
  • Flag of Romania Adrian Ilie
  • Flag of Romania Dan Petrescu
  • Flag of Saudi Arabia Sami Al-Jaber
  • Flag of Saudi Arabia Yousuf Al-Thunayan
  • Flag of Scotland Craig Burley
  • Flag of Scotland John Collins
  • Flag of South Africa Benni McCarthy
  • Flag of South Korea Ha Seok-ju
  • Flag of South Korea Yoo Sang-chul
  • Flag of Spain Kiko
  • Flag of Spain Luis Enrique
  • Flag of Spain Raúl
  • Flag of Tunisia Skander Souayah
  • Flag of United States Brian McBride
  • Flag of FR Yugoslavia Siniša Mihajlović
  • Flag of FR Yugoslavia Predrag Mijatović
  • Flag of FR Yugoslavia Dragan Stojković
Own goals
  • Flag of Bulgaria Georgi Bachev (against Spain)
  • Flag of Morocco Youssef Chippo (against Norway)
  • Flag of Scotland Tom Boyd (against Brazil)
  • Flag of South Africa Pierre Issa (against France)
  • Flag of Spain Andoni Zubizarreta (against Nigeria)
  • Flag of FR Yugoslavia Siniša Mihajlović (against Germany)

Awards[]

Golden Shoe winner Golden Ball winner Yashin Award FIFA Fair Play Trophy Most Entertaining Team
Flag of Croatia Davor Šuker Flag of Brazil Ronaldo Flag of France Fabien Barthez England England
Flag of France France
Flag of France France

Players who were red-carded during the tournament[]

All-star team[]

The All-star team is a squad consisting of the 16 most impressive players at the 1998 World Cup, as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group.

Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Flag of France Fabien Barthez
Flag of Paraguay José Luis Chilavert

Flag of Brazil Roberto Carlos
Flag of France Marcel Desailly
Flag of France Lilian Thuram
Flag of Netherlands Frank de Boer
Flag of Paraguay Carlos Gamarra

Flag of Brazil Dunga
Flag of Brazil Rivaldo
Flag of Denmark Michael Laudrup
Flag of France Zinedine Zidane
Flag of Netherlands Edgar Davids

Flag of Brazil Ronaldo
Flag of Croatia Davor Šuker
Flag of Denmark Brian Laudrup
Flag of Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp

Final standings[]

After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1998 World Cup finals based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.

R Team G P W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1 Flag of France France C 7 6 1 0 15 2 +13 19
2 Brazil Brazil A 7 4 1 2 14 10 +4 13
3 Croatia Croatia H 7 5 0 2 11 5 +6 15
4 Netherlands Netherlands E 7 3 3 1 13 7 +6 12
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 Flag of Italy Italy B 5 3 2 0 8 3 +5 11
6 Flag of Argentina Argentina H 5 3 1 1 10 4 +6 10
7 Germany Germany F 5 3 1 1 8 6 +2 10
8 Flag of Denmark Denmark C 5 2 1 2 9 7 +2 7
Eliminated in the round of 16
9 England England G 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3 7
10 Flag of FR Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia F 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7
11 Romania Romania G 4 2 1 1 4 3 +1 7
12 Flag of Nigeria 001 Nigeria D 4 2 0 2 6 9 −3 6
13 Flag of Mexico Mexico E 4 1 2 1 8 7 +1 5
14 Flag of Paraguay Paraguay D 4 1 2 1 3 2 +1 5
15 Flag of Norway Norway A 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5
16 Flag of CHI Chile B 4 0 3 1 5 8 −3 3
Eliminated in the group stage
17 Flag of Spain Spain D 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4 4
18 Morocco Morocco A 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
19 Belgium Belgium E 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
20 Iran Iran F 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
21 Flag of Colombia Colombia G 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 3
22 Flag of Jamaica Jamaica H 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
23 Flag of Austria Austria B 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 2
24 Flag of South Africa South Africa C 3 0 2 1 3 6 −3 2
25 Flag of Cameroon Cameroon B 3 0 2 1 2 5 −3 2
26 Flag of Tunisia Tunisia G 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
27 Scotland Scotland A 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
28 Flag of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia C 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1
29 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria D 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1
30 South Korea South Korea E 3 0 1 2 2 9 −7 1
31 Flag of Japan Japan H 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
32 Flag of the United States United States F 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0

Symbols[]

Mascot[]

The official mascot was Footix, a rooster first presented in May 1996. It was created by graphic designer Fabrice Pialot and selected from a shortlist of five mascots. Research carried out about the choice of having a cockerel as a mascot was greatly received: 91% associated it immediately with France, the traditional symbol of the nation. Footix, the name chosen by French television viewers, is a portmanteau of "football" and the ending "-ix" from the popular Astérix comic strip. The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's flag and home strip – blue for the jump suit, a red crest and with the words 'France 98' coloured in white.

Official song[]

The official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup was "The Cup of Life," aka "La Copa de la Vida" recorded by Ricky Martin.

Match ball[]

The match ball for the 1998 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas was named the Tricolore, meaning 'three-coloured' in French. It was the eighth World Cup match ball made for the tournament by the German company and was the first in the series to be multi-coloured. The tricolour flag and cockerel, traditional symbols of France were used as inspiration for the design.

Media[]

Sponsorship[]

The sponsors of the 1998 FIFA World Cup are divided into two categories: FIFA World Cup Sponsors and France Supporters.

FIFA World Cup sponsors France Supporters
  • Adidas
  • Budweiser
  • Canon
  • Coca-Cola
  • Fujifilm
  • Gillette (Braun)
  • JVC
  • EDS
  • MasterCard
  • McDonalds
  • Opel
  • Philips
  • Snickers
  • Air France
  • Banque Nationale de Paris
  • Citroën
  • France Telecom
  • La Poste
  • Peugeot
  • Renault

The absence of Budweiser (which was one of the sponsors in the previous two World Cups) is notable due to the Evin law, which forbids alcohol-related sponsorship in France, including in sports events (and thus, being replaced by Casio).

Broadcasting[]

FIFA, through several companies, sold the broadcasting rights for the 1998 FIFA World Cup to many broadcasters. In the UK BBC and ITV had the broadcasting rights. The pictures and audio of the competition were supplied to the TV and radio channels by the company TVRS 98, the broadcaster of the tournament.

The World Cup matches were broadcast in 200 countries. 818 photographers were credited for the tournament. In every match, a stand was reserved for the press. The number of places granted to them reached its maximum in the final, when reporters and 110 TV commentators were present in the stand.

Video games[]

The official video game, World Cup 98 was released by EA Sports on 13 March 1998 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy. It was the first international football game developed by Electronic Arts since obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997 and received mostly favourable reviews.

Many other video games, including International Superstar Soccer 98, World League Soccer 98, Actua Soccer 2 and Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory were released in the buildup to the 1998 World Cup and evidently were based on the tournament. FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, also by EA Sports focused on the qualification stage.

External links[]

1998 FIFA World Cup

Group A  · Group B  · Group C  · Group D  · Group E  · Group F  · Group G  · Group H

Knockout stage  · Final

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