Hosts France won the 1998 World Cup, beating Brazil 3—0 in a one-sided final. Brazilian Ronaldo, on whom a lot of hopes were pinned, suffered a faint hours before the match due to stomach problems and just couldn’t make any impact in the decider.
With his two goals in the final, Zinedine Zidane was internationally recognised as the best player of the world. Debutants Croatia finished a commendable third.
In the last 16 matches between France and Paraguay, a World Cup match is defined by the system ‘Golden Goal’. It was scored by the French Laurent Blanc at minute 113.
For the record, Iran beat the Maldives in qualification stages by the widest margin in World Cup history (17—0).
Danish Ebbe Sand also set a record in this World Cup. He replaced Peter Moller after 15 minutes of game, and after 16 seconds, he touched his first ball and scored.
Germany’s Lothar Matthaus took part in a total of 25 matches in the final run of the World Cup, setting a record. Matthaus also participated in five World Cups, matching the record set by Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carvajal, between the championships of 1950 and 1966.
