1998 World Cup Soccer / Football
1998 World Cup was held in France from June 10th until July 12th, 1998.
This years World Cup was brought back to the home of Jules Rimet, father of the FIFA World Cup.
It would be an unforgettable world cup for the new champions France, who had been eliminated twice during the Semi Final in two of their previous tournaments where they reached the semi finals before being eliminated.
This world cup also marked the 16th tournament since it was established back in 1930 with 32 teams qualifying which was higher than ever before.
The greatest surprise of 1998 Fifa World Cup was Spain being eliminated during the group stages. They had a great team and high expectations but their slow start consisted of a loss to Nigeria and a draw to Paraguay.
Their third and final match in 1998 World Cup was a win against Bulgaria 6:0 however it just proved that a sleeping giant had awoken, but it was too late. Paraguay instead beat Nigeria on the same night to qualify at the expanse of Spain.
Round of 16 had some epic matches that will be remembered around the world for years to come.
Argentina met England in what was a classic World Cup soccer match.
During the first 45 min there was a penalty for each side making the game 1:1, than one incredible goal of the tournament from youngster Michael Owen and the free kick equalizer from Javier Zanetti made the first finish with a score of 2:2.
Second half was expected to be even better and it did not disappoint as the goals just fueled the drama happening on the field.
David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone, Sol Campbels winning goal was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper, extra time and penalties followed where Argentina came out a winner.
Italians would again have their title dreams taken away by penalty shootout in the quarter final against France. This would be 3th Italian world cup elimination on penalties.
One of the biggest upsets in 1998 Football World Cup was Croatia. Entering the World Cup for the first time since the independence from Yugoslavia, Croatia upset advanced all the way to the quarter final where they surprised Germany by destroying the German side 3-0.
Croatia met the host France in the semi final where the golden shoe winner Davor Suker scored a goal in the opening minutes of the match silencing Stade de France.
However, defender Lilian Thuram would score for the first time in his career during this competition, not once but twice to help France win the game 2:1 and advance to their first final.
Brazil had to go through Netherlands and penalty shootout to advance into the final against France.
To everyone's surprise France dominated this match by winning 3:0 with Zinedine Zidane scoring two headers from corners and Emmanuel Petit sealing their fate with third and final goal of the tournament.
France was the champion for the first time and the whole population celebrated and came together as one. It was a night to remember on the French streets.
Teams that participated in 1998 Soccer World Cup tournament were:
Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Jamaica, Mexico, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.
1998 World Cup in France - CHAMPIONS
1998 Champions: France
1998 Runner Up: Brazil
1998 Third Place: Croatia
1998 Fourth Place: Netherlands
1998 World Cup in France - TOP GOALSCORERS
| CRO Davor SUKER | 6 |
| ITA Christian VIERI | 5 |
| ARG Gabriel BATISTUTA | 5 |
| MEX Luis HERNANDEZ | 4 |
| CHI Marcelo SALAS | 4 |
1998 World Cup in France - STATISTICS
| Number of teams | 32 |
| Number of games | 64 |
| Total Goals scored | 171 |
| Average per game | 2,7 |
| Total attendance | 2,785,100 |
| Average attendance | 43,517 |
| Final attendance | 62,328 |
| Golden ball | RONALDO (BRA) |
| Golden shoe | Davor SUKER (CRO) |
| Best Goalkeeper | Fabien BARTHEZ (FRA) |
| Best young player | Michael OWEN (ENG) |
| Fair play award | England, France |
1998 World Cup in France - Group A
| Brazil vs Scotland | 2-1 |
| Morocco vs Norway | 2-2 |
| Scotland vs Norway | 1-1 |
| Brazil vs Morocco | 3-0 |
| Morocco vs Scotland | 3-0 |
| Norway vs Brazil | 2-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Brazil | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Norway | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Morocco | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group B
| Cameroon vs Austria | 1-1 |
| Italy vs Chile | 2-2 |
| Chile vs Austria | 1-1 |
| Italy vs Cameroon | 3-0 |
| Italy vs Austria | 2-1 |
| Chile vs Cameroon | 1-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| Chile | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Austria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group C
| Denmark vs Saudi Arabia | 1-0 |
| France vs South Africa | 3-0 |
| France vs Saudi Arabia | 4-0 |
| South Africa vs Denmark | 1-1 |
| France vs Denmark | 2-1 |
| South Africa vs Saudi Arabia | 2-2 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Denmark | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group D
| Paraguay vs Bulgaria | 0-0 |
| Nigeria vs Spain | 3-2 |
| Nigeria vs Bulgaria | 1-0 |
| Spain vs Paraguay | 0-0 |
| Spain vs Bulgaria | 6-1 |
| Paraguay vs Nigeria | 3-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Spain | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group E
| Netherlands vs Belgium | 0-0 |
| Mexico vs Korea Republic | 3-1 |
| Netherlands vs Korea Republic | 5-0 |
| Belgium vs Mexico | 2-2 |
| Belgium vs Korea Republic | 1-1 |
| Netherlands vs Mexico | 2-2 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Belgium | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Korea Republic | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group F
| Yugoslavia vs Iran | 1-0 |
| Germany vs USA | 2-0 |
| Germany vs Yugoslavia | 2-2 |
| Iran vs USA | 2-1 |
| Germany vs Iran | 2-0 |
| Yugoslavia vs USA | 1-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Yugoslavia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Iran | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| USA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
1998 Soccer World Cup in France - Group G
| Romania vs Colombia | 1-0 |
| England vs Tunisia | 2-0 |
| Colombia vs Tunisia | 1-0 |
| Romania vs England | 2-1 |
| Romania vs Tunisia | 1-1 |
| England vs Colombia | 2-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Romania | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Colombia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Group H
| Croatia vs Jamaica | 3-0 |
| Argentina vs Japan | 1-0 |
| Croatia vs Japan | 1-0 |
| Argentina vs Jamaica | 5-0 |
| Jamaica vs Japan | 2-1 |
| Argentina vs Croatia | 1-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Croatia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Jamaica | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
1998 Fifa World Cup in France - Round of 16
| Brazil vs Chile | 4-1 |
| Italy vs Norway | 1-0 |
| Denmark vs Nigeria | 4-1 |
| France vs Paraguay | 1-0 after extra time |
| Germany vs Mexico | 2-1 |
| Netherlands vs Yugoslavia | 2-1 |
| Argentina vs England | 2-2 after extra time, 4-3 after penalties |
| Croatia vs Romania | 1-0 |
1998 World Cup in France - Quarter Finals
| France vs Italy | 0-0 after extra time, 4-3 after penalties |
| Brazil vs Denmark | 3-2 |
| Croatia vs Germany | 3-0 |
| Netherlands vs Argentina | 2-1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Semi Finals
| Brazil vs Netherlands | 1-1 after extra time, 4-2 after penalties |
| France vs Croatia | 2-1 |
1998 Soccer World Cup in France - Third Place
| Croatia vs Netherlands | 2-1 |
1998 World Cup in France - Final
| France vs Brazil | 3-0 |
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