1998 FIFA World Cup

Last updated

1998 FIFA World Cup
Coupe du Monde – France 98 (French)
1998 FIFA World Cup.svg
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates10 June – 12 July
Teams32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of France (lighter variant).svg  France (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Third placeFlag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Fourth placeFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Tournament statistics
Matches played64
Goals scored171 (2.67 per match)
Attendance2,785,100 (43,517 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Croatia.svg Davor Šuker (6 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Brazil.svg Ronaldo
Best young player Flag of England.svg Michael Owen
Best goalkeeper Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Fabien Barthez
Fair play awardFlag of England.svg  England
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
1994
2002

The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament 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 (the first was in 1938), defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32 days, it was the longest World Cup tournament ever held.

Contents

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. 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums in 10 host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the newly built Stade de France in the Parisian commune of Saint-Denis.

The tournament was won by host country France, who beat defending champions 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 World Cup on home soil. As of 2022, they are the most recent team 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. [1] [2] 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 UEFA Euro 1996.

Voting results [3]
CountryRound 1
France12
Morocco7

Bribery and corruption investigations

On 4 June 2015, while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed during the 1998 and 2010 World Cups host selection process. Blazer stated that "we facilitated bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup". Since France won the selection process it was initially thought the bribery came from its bid committee. It eventually transpired that the bribe payment was from the failed Moroccan bid. [4] [5] [6]

Qualification

The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, Paris on 12 December 1995. [7] As tournament hosts, France was exempt from the draw as was defending champion Brazil, but it was also France's first World Cup since 1986. 174 teams from six confederations participated, 24 more than in the previous round. Fourteen countries qualified from the European zone (in addition to hosts 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 with the winners qualifying for the finals as well. [8] CONMEBOL (South America) and CAF (Africa) were each given five spots in the final tournament, while three spots were contested between 30 CONCACAF members in the North and Central America and the Caribbean zone. The winner of the Oceanian zone advanced 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 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. [9] It marked their first appearance in the finals since 1978, Chile qualified for the first time since 1982, after serving a ban that saw them miss out on the two previous tournaments. Paraguay and Denmark returned for the first time since 1986. Austria, England, Scotland and Yugoslavia returned after missing out on the 1994 tournament, with the Balkan team now appearing under the name of FR Yugoslavia. Among the teams who failed to qualify were two-time winners Uruguay (for the second successive tournament); Portugal (their last absence as of 2022); Sweden, who finished third in 1994; Russia (who failed to qualify for the first time since 1978 after losing to Italy in the play-off round); and the Republic of Ireland, who had qualified for the previous two tournaments. [10] The highest-ranked team not to qualify was the UEFA Euro 1996 runners-up the Czech Republic (ranked 3rd), while the lowest-ranked team that did qualify was Nigeria (ranked 74th).

As of 2022, this was the last time Austria, Bulgaria, Norway, Romania and Scotland qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and the only time Jamaica have qualified.

List of qualified teams

The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, [11] qualified for the final tournament.

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. [12] 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. [12] 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. [13] As Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac successfully negotiated a deal with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to bring the Stade de France, as it was now called, to the commune of Saint-Denis just north of the capital city. [13] 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. [14]

The choice of stadium locations was drafted from an original list of 14 cities. [15] 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 authorities 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. [16] 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 honour of hosting World Cup matches once again in 1998 as they had all done in 1938.

10 stadiums were used for the finals; in addition to nine matches being played at the Stade de France (the most used stadium in the tournament), a further six matches took place in Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes, bringing Paris's total matches hosted to 15. France played four of their seven matches in the national stadium; they also played in the country's second and third largest cities, Marseille (hosting 7 total matches) and Lyon (hosting 6 total matches), as well as a Round of 16 knockout match in the northern city of Lens (also hosting 6 total matches). Nantes, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Saint-Etienne also hosted 6 matches in total; all of the stadiums used also hosted knockout round matches.

Paris (Saint-Denis) Marseille Paris Lyon
Stade de France Stade Vélodrome Parc des Princes Stade de Gerland
48°55′28″N2°21′36″E / 48.92444°N 2.36000°E / 48.92444; 2.36000 (Stade de France) 43°16′11″N5°23′45″E / 43.26972°N 5.39583°E / 43.26972; 5.39583 (Stade Vélodrome) 48°50′29″N2°15′11″E / 48.84139°N 2.25306°E / 48.84139; 2.25306 (Parc des Princes) 45°43′26″N4°49′56″E / 45.72389°N 4.83222°E / 45.72389; 4.83222 (Stade de Gerland)
Capacity: 80,000Capacity: 60,000Capacity: 48,875Capacity: 44,000
Finale Coupe de France 2010-2011 (Lille LOSC vs Paris SG PSG).jpg Vue du virage Depe.jpg Paris-Parc-des-Princes.jpg Stade-Gerland-RWC2007.JPG
Lens
Stade Félix-Bollaert
50°25′58.26″N2°48′53.47″E / 50.4328500°N 2.8148528°E / 50.4328500; 2.8148528 (Stade Félix-Bollaert)
Capacity: 41,300
Stade Felix-Bollaert.jpg
Nantes
Stade de la Beaujoire
47°15′20.27″N1°31′31.35″W / 47.2556306°N 1.5253750°W / 47.2556306; -1.5253750 (Stade de la Beaujoire)
Capacity: 39,500
Stade de la Beaujoire.jpg
Toulouse Saint-Étienne Bordeaux Montpellier
Stadium de Toulouse Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Parc Lescure Stade de la Mosson
43°34′59.93″N1°26′2.57″E / 43.5833139°N 1.4340472°E / 43.5833139; 1.4340472 (Stadium de Toulouse) 45°27′38.76″N4°23′24.42″E / 45.4607667°N 4.3901167°E / 45.4607667; 4.3901167 (Stade Geoffroy-Guichard) 44°49′45″N0°35′52″W / 44.82917°N 0.59778°W / 44.82917; -0.59778 (Parc Lescure) 43°37′19.85″N3°48′43.28″E / 43.6221806°N 3.8120222°E / 43.6221806; 3.8120222 (Stade de la Mosson)
Capacity: 37,000Capacity: 36,000Capacity: 35,200Capacity: 34,000
Stadium TFC LOSC mai2013 2.JPG Stade-GeoffroyGuichard-RWC2007.JPG Stade Chaban-Delmas.jpg Australie-Fidji.4.JPG

Innovations

Technologies

This was the first FIFA World Cup where fourth officials used electronic boards, instead of cardboard. [17]

Rule changes

This was the first World Cup since the introduction of golden goals, [17] banning of tackles from behind that endanger the safety of an opponent [18] and allowance of three substitutions per game. [19]

Match officials

34 referees and 33 assistants officiated in the 1998 World Cup. [20] 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. [20]

CAF (5)
AFC (4)
UEFA (15)
CONCACAF (3)
OFC (1)
CONMEBOL (6)

Draw

The FIFA Organising Committee announced the eight seeded teams on 3 December 1997. The historic tradition to seed the hosts (France) and holders (Brazil) was upheld; while the remaining six seeds were granted for the other top7-ranked teams, based on their results obtained in the last three FIFA World Cups (ratio 3:2:1, counting in total 60%) and their FIFA World Ranking position in the last month of the past three years (equal ratio, counting in total 40%). [21] [22]

For the draw, the 32 teams were allocated into four pots. The eight top-seeded teams were allocated in pot A and would be drawn/selected into the first position of the eight groups playing in the group stage. The remaining 24 unseeded teams were allocated into three pots based on geographical sections, with the: Nine European teams in pot B; four Asian teams and three South American teams in pot C; five African teams and three North American teams in pot D. [23]

The general principle was to draw one team from each pot into the eight groups, although with special combined procedures for pot B and pot C, due to comprising more/less than eight teams - but sixteen teams in total. At the same time, the draw also needed to respect the geographical limitation, that each group could not feature more than one team from each confederation, except for the European teams where the limitation was maximum two per group. [23]

Pot A
Top-seeded teams
(DC + Host + Top7 seeds)
Pot B
Europe
(UEFA)
Pot C
Asia & South America
(AFC & CONMEBOL)
Pot D
Africa & North America
(CAF & CONCACAF)

For the first time in history, the draw event took place in a football stadium, with 38,000 spectators and an estimated 1 billion TV viewers. The draw was officiated by FIFA secretary general Sepp Blatter. Teams were drawn by football legends Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto Parreira, George Weah and Raymond Kopa. [24]

Organiser Michel Platini, who later became president of UEFA, admitted in 2018 that the draw for the group stage of the competition had been fixed so that France and Brazil were kept apart until the final, telling France Bleu Sport: "We did a bit of trickery. When we were organising the schedule. We did not spend six years organising the World Cup to not do some little shenanigans". [25]

The statement from Platini referred to the fact that, shortly before the World Cup finals draw took place, the FIFA Organising Committee had met to finalise the draw process. At this meeting, the committee had approved the proposal to assign host nation France to group position C1 and defending champions Brazil to group position A1 ahead of the draw. As the tournament structure was also predetermined so that the winners of Groups A, D, E and H, and the runners-up of Groups B, C, F and G would be kept apart from the group winners of B, C, F and G, and the runners-up of Group A, D, E and H until the final; thus, France and Brazil could avoid meeting each other until the final if both teams finished in the same position in the top two of their respective groups. [26]

Procedure for the draw: [23]

  1. Pot A was used to draw the remaining six top-seeded teams for the first position of groups B, D, E, F, G and H.
  2. Pot D was used to draw one team to each of the eight groups (drawing in the alphabetic order from A to H).
  3. Pot B was used to draw one team to each of the eight groups (drawing in the alphabetic order from A to H).
  4. As per the FIFA rule of only allowing a maximum of two UEFA teams in each group, the remaining ninth team from Pot B, was subject to a second draw, to be put in either of the groups containing a top-seeded South American (CONMEBOL) team.
  5. Pot C was used to draw one team to each of the seven groups with an empty spot (drawing in alphabetical order from A to H). However, as each group could only contain one South American (CONMEBOL) team, the first Asian (AFC) team drawn would not be drawn into a group in alphabetical order, but instead be drawn into the remaining open group with a top-seeded South American (CONMEBOL) team.
  6. To decide the match schedules, the exact group position number for the un-seeded teams in each group (2, 3 or 4), were also drawn immediately from eight special group bowls, after each respective team had been drawn from pot D, B and C.

Draw results and group fixtures

The draw resulted in the following eight groups: [23]

In each group, the teams played three matches, one against each of the other teams. Three points were awarded for each win, while a draw was worth one point. After completion of the group stage, the two teams with the most points in each group would advance to the knockout stage, with each group winner facing the runner-up from one of the other groups in the round of 16. This was a new format for the World Cup, following the expansion from 24 teams in 1994. A total of 64 games were played, including the final and a third-place play-off between the losers of the two semi-finals.

The fixtures for the group stage were decided based on the draw results, as follows:

Group stage schedule
MatchdayDatesMatches
Matchday 110–15 June 19981 v 2, 3 v 4
Matchday 216–22 June 19981 v 3, 2 v 4
Matchday 323–26 June 19984 v 1, 2 v 3

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. [27] 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. [27]

The average age of all teams was 27 years, 8 months – five months older than the previous tournament. [28] 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. [28]

Group stage

Champion
Runner-up
Third place
Fourth place
Quarter-finals
Round of 16
Group stage 1998 world cup.png

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

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 7 minutes remaining to defeat Brazil 2–1, with Kjetil Rekdal scoring [29] the winning penalty to send Norway into the knockout stage for the first time. [30]

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 first 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.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 320163+36Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 312054+15
3Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 31115504
4Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 30122641
Source: FIFA
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg2–1Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
César Sampaio Soccerball shade.svg5'
Boyd Soccerball shade.svg74' (o.g.)
Report Collins Soccerball shade.svg38' (pen.)
Morocco  Flag of Morocco.svg2–2Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Hadji Soccerball shade.svg37'
Hadda Soccerball shade.svg60'
Report Chippo Soccerball shade.svg45+1' (o.g.)
Eggen Soccerball shade.svg61'

Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg1–1Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Burley Soccerball shade.svg66' Report H. Flo Soccerball shade.svg46'
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: László Vágner (Hungary)
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg3–0Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Ronaldo Soccerball shade.svg9'
Rivaldo Soccerball shade.svg45+2'
Bebeto Soccerball shade.svg50'
Report
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 35,500
Referee: Nikolai Levnikov (Russia)

Scotland  Flag of Scotland.svg0–3Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Report Bassir Soccerball shade.svg23', 85'
Hadda Soccerball shade.svg46'
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg1–2Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Bebeto Soccerball shade.svg78' Report T. A. Flo Soccerball shade.svg83'
Rekdal Soccerball shade.svg89' (pen.)

Group B

Italy and Chile progressed to the second round, while Austria failed to win for the first time since 1958 and Cameroon failed to get out of the group stage for the second time in a row.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 321073+47Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 30304403
3Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 30213412
4Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 30212532
Source: FIFA
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg2–2Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Vieri Soccerball shade.svg10'
R. Baggio Soccerball shade.svg84' (pen.)
Report Salas Soccerball shade.svg45+3', 50'
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger)
Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg1–1Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Njanka Soccerball shade.svg77' Report Polster Soccerball shade.svg90+1'
Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 33,500
Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)

Chile  Flag of Chile.svg1–1Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Salas Soccerball shade.svg70' Report Vastić Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg3–0Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Di Biagio Soccerball shade.svg7'
Vieri Soccerball shade.svg75', 89'
Report
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Attendance: 29,800
Referee: Eddie Lennie (Australia)

Italy  Flag of Italy.svg2–1Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Vieri Soccerball shade.svg48'
R. Baggio Soccerball shade.svg90'
Report Herzog Soccerball shade.svg90+2' (pen.)
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Paul Durkin (England)
Chile  Flag of Chile.svg1–1Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Sierra Soccerball shade.svg20' Report Mboma Soccerball shade.svg56'
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 35,500
Referee: László Vágner (Hungary)

Group C

France, the host nation, swept Group C when the start of their path to their first FIFA World Cup trophy culminated with their 2–1 win over Denmark, who despite their loss, progressed to the second round. Saudi Arabia, after a good performance four years earlier, finished bottom with only one point. Debutant South Africa grabbed two points and also exited at the group stage.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France (H)330091+89Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 31113304
3Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 30213632
4Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 30122751
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts
Saudi Arabia  Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg0–1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Report Rieper Soccerball shade.svg69'
Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 38,100
Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg3–0Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Dugarry Soccerball shade.svg36'
Issa Soccerball shade.svg77' (o.g.)
Henry Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Report

South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg1–1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
McCarthy Soccerball shade.svg51' Report A. Nielsen Soccerball shade.svg12'
Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 33,500
Referee: John Toro Rendón (Colombia)
France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg4–0Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Henry Soccerball shade.svg37', 78'
Trezeguet Soccerball shade.svg68'
Lizarazu Soccerball shade.svg85'
Report

France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg2–1Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Djorkaeff Soccerball shade.svg12' (pen.)
Petit Soccerball shade.svg56'
Report M. Laudrup Soccerball shade.svg42' (pen.)
Stade Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg2–2Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
Bartlett Soccerball shade.svg18', 90+3' (pen.) Report Al-Jaber Soccerball shade.svg45+2' (pen.)
Al-Thunayan Soccerball shade.svg74' (pen.)
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Mario Sánchez (Chile)

Group D

Nigeria and Paraguay advanced to the Round of 16 after a surprise elimination of top seed Spain, while Bulgaria failed to repeat their surprise performance from the previous tournament.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 32015506Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay 312031+25
3Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 311184+44
4Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 30121761
Source: FIFA
Paraguay  Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg0–0Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Report
Spain  Flag of Spain.svg2–3Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Hierro Soccerball shade.svg21'
Raúl Soccerball shade.svg47'
Report Adepoju Soccerball shade.svg24'
Zubizarreta Soccerball shade.svg73' (o.g.)
Oliseh Soccerball shade.svg78'

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg1–0Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Ikpeba Soccerball shade.svg28' Report
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Mario Sánchez Yantén (Chile)
Spain  Flag of Spain.svg0–0Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay
Report

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg1–3Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay
Oruma Soccerball shade.svg11' Report Ayala Soccerball shade.svg1'
Benítez Soccerball shade.svg58'
Cardozo Soccerball shade.svg86'
Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 33,500
Referee: Pirom Un-prasert (Thailand)
Spain  Flag of Spain.svg6–1Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Hierro Soccerball shade.svg6' (pen.)
Luis Enrique Soccerball shade.svg18'
Morientes Soccerball shade.svg55', 81'
Bachev Soccerball shade.svg88' (o.g.)
Kiko Soccerball shade.svg90+4'
Report Kostadinov Soccerball shade.svg58'

Group E

The Netherlands and Mexico advanced with the same record, with the former placing first on goal difference. Belgium and eventual 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosts South Korea failed to advance.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 312072+55Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 312075+25
3Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 30303303
4Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 30122971
Source: FIFA
South Korea  Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg1–3Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Ha Seok-ju Soccerball shade.svg27' Report Peláez Soccerball shade.svg50'
Hernández Soccerball shade.svg75', 84'
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Günter Benkö (Austria)
Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg0–0Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 77,000
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg2–2Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Wilmots Soccerball shade.svg42', 47' Report García Aspe Soccerball shade.svg55' (pen.)
Blanco Soccerball shade.svg62'
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)
Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg5–0Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Cocu Soccerball shade.svg37'
Overmars Soccerball shade.svg41'
Bergkamp Soccerball shade.svg71'
Van Hooijdonk Soccerball shade.svg80'
R. de Boer Soccerball shade.svg83'
Report
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)

Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg2–2Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Cocu Soccerball shade.svg4'
R. de Boer Soccerball shade.svg18'
Report Peláez Soccerball shade.svg75'
Hernández Soccerball shade.svg90+4'
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg1–1Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Nilis Soccerball shade.svg7' Report Yoo Sang-chul Soccerball shade.svg72'

Group F

Germany and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia advanced, each with 7 points (Germany took 1st through goal differential tiebreak). Iran and 1994 host United States failed to advance.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 321062+47Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  FR Yugoslavia 321042+27
3Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 31022423
4Flag of the United States.svg  United States 30031540
Source: FIFA
FR Yugoslavia  Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg1–0Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Mihajlović Soccerball shade.svg73' Report
Germany  Flag of Germany.svg2–0Flag of the United States (Pantone).svg  United States
Möller Soccerball shade.svg9'
Klinsmann Soccerball shade.svg65'
Report
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Said Belqola (Morocco)

Germany  Flag of Germany.svg2–2Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  FR Yugoslavia
Mihajlović Soccerball shade.svg72' (o.g.)
Bierhoff Soccerball shade.svg78'
Report Mijatović Soccerball shade.svg13'
Stojković Soccerball shade.svg52'
Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 38,100
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
United States  Flag of the United States (Pantone).svg1–2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
McBride Soccerball shade.svg87' Report Estili Soccerball shade.svg40'
Mahdavikia Soccerball shade.svg84'
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

Germany  Flag of Germany.svg2–0Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Bierhoff Soccerball shade.svg50'
Klinsmann Soccerball shade.svg57'
Report
United States  Flag of the United States (Pantone).svg0–1Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  FR Yugoslavia
Report Komljenović Soccerball shade.svg4'
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 35,500
Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)

Group G

Romania topped the group over England, while Colombia and Tunisia were unable to reach the last 16, despite Colombia having one win.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 321042+27Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of England.svg  England 320152+36
3Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 31021323
4Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia 30121431
Source: FIFA
England  Flag of England.svg2–0Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia
Shearer Soccerball shade.svg42'
Scholes Soccerball shade.svg89'
Report
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 54,587
Referee: Masayoshi Okada (Japan)
Romania  Flag of Romania.svg1–0Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Ilie Soccerball shade.svg45+1' Report
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)

Colombia  Flag of Colombia.svg1–0Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia
Preciado Soccerball shade.svg83' Report
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Attendance: 29,800
Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)
Romania  Flag of Romania.svg2–1Flag of England.svg  England
Moldovan Soccerball shade.svg46'
Petrescu Soccerball shade.svg90'
Report Owen Soccerball shade.svg81'
Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 33,500
Referee: Marc Batta (France)

Colombia  Flag of Colombia.svg0–2Flag of England.svg  England
Report Anderton Soccerball shade.svg20'
Beckham Soccerball shade.svg29'
Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 38,100
Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)
Romania  Flag of Romania.svg1–1Flag of Tunisia (1959-1999).svg  Tunisia
Moldovan Soccerball shade.svg71' Report Souayah Soccerball shade.svg12' (pen.)
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 77,000
Referee: Eddie Lennie (Australia)

Group H

Argentina finished at the top of Group H against three debutants. Croatia took the runners-up spot while Jamaica and Japan failed to advance.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 330070+79Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 320142+26
3Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 31023963
4Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan 30031430
Source: FIFA
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg1–0Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
Batistuta Soccerball shade.svg28' Report
Jamaica  Flag of Jamaica.svg1–3Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Earle Soccerball shade.svg45' Report Stanić Soccerball shade.svg27'
Prosinečki Soccerball shade.svg53'
Šuker Soccerball shade.svg69'

Japan  Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg0–1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Report Šuker Soccerball shade.svg77'
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg5–0Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Ortega Soccerball shade.svg32', 55'
Batistuta Soccerball shade.svg73', 78', 83' (pen.)
Report
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Rune Pedersen (Norway)

Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg1–0Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Pineda Soccerball shade.svg36' Report
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Said Belqola (Morocco)
Japan  Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg1–2Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Nakayama Soccerball shade.svg74' Report Whitmore Soccerball shade.svg39', 54'
Stade Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Günter Benkö (Austria)

Knockout stage

The knockout stage comprised the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. 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. The Golden goal rule was also used, whereby if a team scored during extra time, they would immediately win the game.

Bracket

The first games were played on 27 June 1998, and the final took place on 12 July 1998 in Paris.

 
Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
              
 
27 June – Paris
 
 
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 4
 
3 July – Nantes
 
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 1
 
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3
 
28 June – Saint-Denis
 
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2
 
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 1
 
7 July – Marseille
 
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 4
 
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil (p)1 (4)
 
29 June – Toulouse
 
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1 (2)
 
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2
 
4 July – Marseille
 
Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  FR Yugoslavia 1
 
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2
 
30 June – Saint-Étienne
 
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1
 
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina (p)2 (4)
 
12 July – Saint-Denis
 
Flag of England.svg  England 2 (3)
 
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 0
 
27 June – Marseille
 
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France 3
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1
 
3 July – Saint-Denis
 
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 0
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 0 (3)
 
28 June – Lens
 
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France (p)0 (4)
 
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France (a.s.d.e.t.)1
 
8 July – Saint-Denis
 
Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay 0
 
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France 2
 
29 June – Montpellier
 
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1 Third place play-off
 
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2
 
4 July – Lyon 11 July – Paris
 
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1
 
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 0Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1
 
30 June – Bordeaux
 
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 3Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2
 
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 0
 
 
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1
 

Round of 16

Italy  Flag of Italy.svg1–0Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Vieri Soccerball shade.svg18' Report
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)

Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg4–1Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Sampaio Soccerball shade.svg11', 26'
Ronaldo Soccerball shade.svg45+3' (pen.), 72'
Report Salas Soccerball shade.svg70'
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Marc Batta (France)

France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg1–0 (a.e.t./g.g.)Flag of Paraguay (1990-2013).svg  Paraguay
Blanc Soccerball shade gold.svg114' Report

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg1–4Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Babangida Soccerball shade.svg77' Report Møller Soccerball shade.svg3'
B. Laudrup Soccerball shade.svg12'
Sand Soccerball shade.svg58'
Helveg Soccerball shade.svg76'
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 77,000
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

Germany  Flag of Germany.svg2–1Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Klinsmann Soccerball shade.svg74'
Bierhoff Soccerball shade.svg86'
Report Hernández Soccerball shade.svg47'

Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg2–1Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  FR Yugoslavia
Bergkamp Soccerball shade.svg38'
Davids Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Report Komljenović Soccerball shade.svg48'

Romania  Flag of Romania.svg0–1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Report Šuker Soccerball shade.svg45+2' (pen.)
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)

Quarter-finals


Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg3–2Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Bebeto Soccerball shade.svg10'
Rivaldo Soccerball shade.svg25', 59'
Report M. Jørgensen Soccerball shade.svg2'
B. Laudrup Soccerball shade.svg50'
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 35,500
Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)

Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg2–1Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Kluivert Soccerball shade.svg12'
Bergkamp Soccerball shade.svg90'
Report López Soccerball shade.svg17'
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

Germany  Flag of Germany.svg0–3Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Report Jarni Soccerball shade.svg45+3'
Vlaović Soccerball shade.svg80'
Šuker Soccerball shade.svg85'
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Rune Pedersen (Norway)

Semi-finals


France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg2–1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Thuram Soccerball shade.svg47', 70' Report Šuker Soccerball shade.svg46'

Third place play-off

Croatia beat the Netherlands to earn third place in the competition. Davor Šuker scored the winner in the 36th minute to secure the golden boot. [31]

Netherlands  Flag of the Netherlands.svg1–2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Zenden Soccerball shade.svg22' Report Prosinečki Soccerball shade.svg14'
Šuker Soccerball shade.svg36'
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)

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, [32] later to be topped by Brazil's 7–1 defeat by Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. [33]

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. [34] 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 from 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. [35]

French president Jacques Chirac was in attendance to congratulate the winners and commiserate the runners-up after the match. [36] Several days after the victory, winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team with immediate effect. [37] [38]

1998 FIFA World Cup
Final
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg03Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France
Report Zidane Soccerball shade.svg27', 45+1'
Petit Soccerball shade.svg90+3'
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 75,000
Referee: Said Belqola (Morocco)

Statistics

Goalscorers

Davor Šuker received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 171 goals were scored by 112 players:

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal