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, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the second time that France staged the competition and the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32 days, it is the longest World Cup tournament ever held.
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988. Despite soccer's relative lack of popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per game, marks that stood unsurpassed as of 2022 despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams starting with the 1998 World Cup.
The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 December 1996. Saudi Arabia defeated hosts United Arab Emirates in the final match in Abu Dhabi. As the runners-up, the United Arab Emirates represented the AFC in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup as the winners Saudi Arabia had qualified automatically as host.
The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the seventh edition of the Gold Cup, the association football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious in the final against an upstart Panama team led by tournament MVP Luis Tejada. After regulation and 30 minutes of extra time ended scoreless, the U.S. won 3–1 on penalties.
The United States (USA) was the host nation for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 646 competitors, 375 men and 271 women, took part in 263 events in 31 sports.
France competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 299 competitors, 197 men and 102 women, took part in 183 events in 25 sports.
The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the previous editions, in December 1997 and was the first to feature representatives from all of the FIFA confederations.
Nigeria competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. The most surprising achievement was Nigeria's gold in football. The team overcame what are usually considered much stronger teams, such as Brazil and finally Argentina to earn the gold.
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African zone (CAF). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian zone (AFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Tunisia competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 51 competitors, 45 men and 6 women, took part in 24 events in 9 sports.
Argentina competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 178 competitors, 131 men and 47 women, took part in 101 events in 20 sports.
Ghana competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. Boxer Tijani Moro, who won Ghana's only medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, carried his country's flag at the opening ceremony.
Brazil competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 225 athletes – 159 men, 66 women – competed in 18 sports. The country set a record with both 15 medals – only surpassed in 2008 – and 3 golds – surpassed in 2004 with five.
The 1996 Summer Olympics—based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States—marked the first time that women participated in the Olympic association football tournament. The tournament featured eight women's national teams from four continental confederations. The teams were drawn into two groups of four and each group played a round-robin tournament. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage, beginning with the semi-finals and culminating with the gold medal match on August 1, 1996.
This is a record of the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup. The Netherlands entered qualification for 19 of the 22 FIFA World Cup tournaments to date, qualifying 11 times. They have a record of 3 World Cup final appearances without winning the tournament.
The knockout stage of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup began on 19 December with the semi-final round, and concluded on 21 December 1997 with the final at the King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third place match was included and played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.
Group E of the women's soccer tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics was played from 21 to 25 July 1996, and included hosts United States, China, Denmark and Sweden. The top two teams advanced to the Semi-finals.
Nigeria (1st title)
Argentina 
Brazil 
Portugal 
