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World Cup 1998

Winner

France

Highlights

The 1998 World Cup marked a turning point in the tournament's history: it was the first edition to feature 32 teams, up from 24, with debutant nations such as Croatia and Jamaica taking part. In the group stage, Norway caused a major upset by beating Brazil, while France impressed by conceding just a single goal in three group matches.

The round of 16 produced one of the tournament's most talked-about moments: in the Argentina-England clash, young Michael Owen scored a goal that has gone down in history, before David Beckham's sending-off left England to battle on with ten men. France, for their part, needed extra time to see off Paraguay thanks to Laurent Blanc's golden goal.

In the quarter-finals, the Netherlands eliminated Argentina with a spectacular strike from Dennis Bergkamp, while Croatia, the tournament's revelation, reached the semi-finals before finishing third. Striker Davor Suker ended the competition as top scorer with six goals.

The final, played at the Stade de France, saw the host nation beat Brazil 3-0, with the Brazilian side visibly unsettled by Ronaldo's mysterious illness hours before kick-off. Zinedine Zidane, who scored twice with headers, cemented his place in French football folklore. France's first world title sparked unprecedented scenes of celebration and firmly established football as a major sport in the country.

Statistics

Total goals
171
Matches played
64
Goals/match
2.67
Best attack (goals scored)
15
France
Best defense (goals conceded)
2
France

First round

Qualified for the next round

Group A

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Brazil 6 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3
2.Norway 5 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1
3.Morocco 4 3 1 1 1 5 5 0
4.Scotland 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4
Match results
Brazil - Scotland2 - 1
Morocco - Norway2 - 2
Scotland - Norway1 - 1
Brazil - Morocco3 - 0
Norway - Brazil2 - 1
Morocco - Scotland3 - 0

Group B

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Italy 7 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4
2.Chile 3 3 0 3 0 4 4 0
3.Austria 2 3 0 2 1 3 4 -1
4.Cameroon 2 3 0 2 1 2 5 -3
Match results
Italy - Chile2 - 2
Cameroon - Austria1 - 1
Chile - Austria1 - 1
Italy - Cameroon3 - 0
Italy - Austria2 - 1
Chile - Cameroon1 - 1

Group C

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.France 9 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8
2.Denmark 4 3 1 1 1 3 3 0
3.South Africa 2 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3
4.Saudi Arabia 1 3 0 1 2 2 7 -5
Match results
Denmark - Saudi Arabia1 - 0
France - South Africa3 - 0
South Africa - Denmark1 - 1
France - Saudi Arabia4 - 0
France - Denmark2 - 1
South Africa - Saudi Arabia2 - 2

Group D

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Nigeria 6 3 2 0 1 5 5 0
2.Paraguay 5 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2
3.Spain 4 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4
4.Bulgaria 1 3 0 1 2 1 7 -6
Match results
Paraguay - Bulgaria0 - 0
Nigeria - Spain3 - 2
Nigeria - Bulgaria1 - 0
Spain - Paraguay0 - 0
Paraguay - Nigeria3 - 1
Spain - Bulgaria6 - 1

Group E

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Netherlands 5 3 1 2 0 7 2 +5
2.Mexico 5 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2
3.Belgium 3 3 0 3 0 3 3 0
4.South Korea 1 3 0 1 2 2 9 -7
Match results
Mexico - South Korea3 - 1
Netherlands - Belgium0 - 0
Belgium - Mexico2 - 2
Netherlands - South Korea5 - 0
Netherlands - Mexico2 - 2
Belgium - South Korea1 - 1

Group F

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Germany 7 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4
2.YUGYugoslavia 7 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2
3.Iran 3 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2
4.United States 0 3 0 0 3 1 5 -4
Match results
Yugoslavia - Iran1 - 0
Germany - United States2 - 0
Germany - Yugoslavia2 - 2
Iran - United States2 - 1
Yugoslavia - United States1 - 0
Germany - Iran2 - 0

Group G

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Romania 7 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2
2.England 6 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3
3.Colombia 3 3 1 0 2 1 3 -2
4.Tunisia 1 3 0 1 2 1 4 -3
Match results
England - Tunisia2 - 0
Romania - Colombia1 - 0
Colombia - Tunisia1 - 0
Romania - England2 - 1
England - Colombia2 - 0
Romania - Tunisia1 - 1

Group H

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Argentina 9 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7
2.Croatia 6 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2
3.Jamaica 3 3 1 0 2 3 9 -6
4.Japan 0 3 0 0 3 1 4 -3
Match results
Argentina - Japan1 - 0
Croatia - Jamaica3 - 1
Croatia - Japan1 - 0
Argentina - Jamaica5 - 0
Argentina - Croatia1 - 0
Jamaica - Japan2 - 1

Knockout stage

Round of 16

Argentina - England2 - 2 a.e.t. (4-3 p)
Croatia - Romania1 - 0
Netherlands - Yugoslavia2 - 1
Germany - Mexico2 - 1
Denmark - Nigeria4 - 1
France - Paraguay1 - 0 a.e.t.
Brazil - Chile4 - 1
Italy - Norway1 - 0

Quarter-finals

Croatia - Germany3 - 0
Netherlands - Argentina2 - 1
Brazil - Denmark3 - 2
France - Italy0 - 0 a.e.t. (4-3 p)

Semi-finals

France - Croatia2 - 1
Brazil - Netherlands1 - 1 a.e.t. (4-2 p)

Third place

Croatia - Netherlands2 - 1

Final

France3
Brazil0

Top Scorers

Rank Player Goals Penalties Goals/match
1 Davor Suker 6 1 0.86
2 Gabriel Batistuta 5 2 1.00
2 Christian Vieri 5 0 1.00
4 Luis Hernández 4 0 1.00
4 Marcelo Salas 4 0 1.00
4 Ronaldo 4 1 0.57
7 Jürgen Klinsmann 3 0 0.60
7 Oliver Bierhoff 3 0 0.60
7 Thierry Henry 3 0 0.50
7 César Sampaio 3 0 0.50
7 Bebeto 3 0 0.43
7 Dennis Bergkamp 3 0 0.43
7 Rivaldo 3 0 0.43
14 Fernando Morientes 2 0 1.00
14 Ricardo Peláez 2 0 0.67
14 Shaun Bartlett 2 1 0.67
14 Theodore Whitmore 2 0 0.67
14 Abdeljalil Hadda 2 0 0.67
14 Salaheddine Bassir 2 0 0.67
14 Slobodan Komljenovic 2 0 0.67
14 Fernando Hierro 2 1 0.67
14 Marc Wilmots 2 0 0.67
14 Roberto Baggio 2 1 0.50
14 Michael Owen 2 0 0.50
14 Viorel Moldovan 2 0 0.50
14 Patrick Kluivert 2 0 0.50
14 Alan Shearer 2 1 0.50
14 Robert Prosinecki 2 0 0.40
14 Brian Laudrup 2 0 0.40
14 Ariel Ortega 2 0 0.40
14 Zinédine Zidane 2 0 0.40
14 Emmanuel Petit 2 0 0.33
14 Ronald De Boer 2 0 0.33
14 Lilian Thuram 2 0 0.33
14 Phillip Cocu 2 0 0.29
36 Wilson Oruma 1 0 1.00
36 Youssef Al Tunayan 1 1 0.50
36 Ha Seok Ju 1 0 0.50
36 Peter Moller 1 0 0.50
36 Brian Mcbride 1 0 0.50
36 Léider Preciado 1 0 0.33
36 Pierre Van Hooijdonk 1 0 0.33
36 Robert Earle 1 0 0.33
36 Ivica Vastic 1 0 0.33
36 Christophe Dugarry 1 0 0.33
36 Mauricio Pineda 1 0 0.33
36 Andreas Herzog 1 1 0.33
36 Kiko 1 0 0.33
36 Andreas Möller 1 0 0.33
36 David Beckham 1 0 0.33
36 Raúl 1 0 0.33
36 Emil Kostadinov 1 0 0.33
36 Masashi Nakayama 1 0 0.33
36 Skander Souayeh 1 1 0.33
36 Benni Mccarthy 1 0 0.33
36 Craig Burley 1 0 0.33
36 Toni Polster 1 0 0.33
36 Patrick Mboma 1 0 0.33
36 Victor Ikpeba 1 0 0.33
36 Luis Enrique 1 0 0.33
36 Luc Nilis 1 0 0.33
36 Sami Al Jaber 1 1 0.33
36 Mutiu Adepoju 1 0 0.33
36 Hamid Estili 1 0 0.33
36 Mustafa El Hadji 1 0 0.33
36 Mehdi Mahdavikia 1 0 0.33
36 John Collins 1 1 0.33
36 Pierre Njanka 1 0 0.33
36 Yoo Sang Chul 1 0 0.33
36 José Cardozo 1 0 0.33
36 Tijani Babangida 1 0 0.25
36 José Sierra 1 0 0.25
36 Boudewijn Zenden 1 0 0.25
36 Havard Flo 1 0 0.25
36 Dragan Stojkovic 1 0 0.25
36 Predrag Mijatovic 1 0 0.25
36 Alberto García Aspe 1 1 0.25
36 Sunday Oliseh 1 0 0.25
36 Adrian Ilie 1 0 0.25
36 Paul Scholes 1 0 0.25
36 Dan Petrescu 1 0 0.25
36 Sinisa Mihajlovic 1 0 0.25
36 Darren Anderton 1 0 0.25
36 Tore André Flo 1 0 0.25
36 Cuauhtémoc Blanco 1 0 0.25
36 Kjetil Rekdal 1 1 0.25
36 Dan Eggen 1 0 0.25
36 Miguel Benítez 1 0 0.25
36 Celso Ayala 1 0 0.25
36 Ebbe Sand 1 0 0.20
36 Claudio López 1 0 0.20
36 Allan Nielsen 1 0 0.20
36 Martin Jorgensen 1 0 0.20
36 Michael Laudrup 1 1 0.20
36 Luigi Di Biagio 1 0 0.20
36 Thomas Helveg 1 0 0.20
36 Marc Rieper 1 0 0.20
36 Javier Zanetti 1 0 0.20
36 Laurent Blanc 1 0 0.20
36 David Trezeguet 1 0 0.17
36 Marc Overmars 1 0 0.17
36 Edgar Davids 1 0 0.17
36 Bixente Lizarazu 1 0 0.17
36 Goran Vlaovic 1 0 0.14
36 Youri Djorkaeff 1 1 0.14
36 Mario Stanic 1 0 0.14
36 Robert Jarni 1 0 0.14