FIFA World Cup History - World Cup 1998: Zinedine Zidane Led France to 3-0 Victory against Brazil
The FIFA World Cup 1998 took place in France from 10th of June to 12th of July. This was the first FIFA World Cup ever in which 32 nations were selected and 8 groups of 4 were made; the top two from each group would qualify for the pre quarterfinal stages, and then 16 teams would battle it out for the ultimate prize. In this World Cup, the football that was used was called Adidas Tricolore, and according to many football experts, it is the best football that has ever been used in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
The 32 teams that managed to qualify in this FIFA World Cup included:
France, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Jamaica, Mexico, United States, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Norway, Scotland, Yugoslavia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia.
The first group had four teams: Brazil, Norway, Morocco and Scotland. The Brazilians, being the favourites for this FIFA World Cup, started off really well. They won the match against Scotland and Morocco and suffered a loss from Norway to score 6 points and lead the group. Norway, after beating Brazil, had two draws; therefore, they qualified for the second round as well. Morocco and Scotland, on the other hand, were knocked out.
In the second group, Italy outclassed every other team by winning two matches and drawing one against Chile. Italy took 7 points, which was 4 points clear of Chile, who drew all three matches and qualified for the knock-out stages. Austria and Cameroon, however, failed to advance.
In the third group, the host nation France outclassed each and every team that stood in their way. With the likes of their star player Zinedine Zidane, France managed to defeat all the three teams that came in their way to score 9 points, as they qualified for the next round. Their opponents, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and South Africa had to battle it out for a spot in the next round. Denmark won the battle with 4 points and qualified for the next round.
In the fourth group, Nigeria shocked the world by defeating Spain in their first round, which later was the reason why the Spaniards could not qualify for the pre quarterfinals. Paraguay, on the other hand, drew against the favourite European side, Spain. Bulgaria could not win any match and just drew one against Paraguay to earn a single point. Thus, Nigeria and Paraguay qualified for the Round of 16.
In the fifth group, Netherlands, Mexico, Belgium and Korea Republic had to go head to head for a spot in the pre quarterfinals. Netherlands and Mexico both won 5 points apiece, and the Dutch advanced to the pre quarterfinals as the winners of the group; and this happened because they had conceded two goals only, while the Mexicans conceded five goals. Both the teams, however, scored 7 goals each.
In the sixth group, Germany and Yugoslavia outdid the Asian team Iran and the American team. Germany and Yugoslavia both won 2 of their matches and drew against each other to secure a pass to the pre quarterfinals. Both had 7 points each, and the Germans advanced as winners because of their goal difference, which was of 4 goals compared to Yugoslavia’s 2 goals difference.
In the seventh group, Romania and England were the only two teams that managed to impress, while Colombia and Tunisia did not really do that well. Romania topped the group by securing 7 points, as they drew the match against Tunisia and won the rest. England, on the other hand, won two matches and suffered a loss against the group winners, Romania.
In the eighth and the last group, Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica and Japan had to face each other for a spot in the pre quarterfinals. Argentina outclassed each and every team and won all the matches to qualify for the next round with 9 points and an “un-beaten” run in the FIFA World Cup, just like the host nation France. Croatia followed by winning two matches and securing 6 points to get a spot in the pre quarterfinals.
During the knockout stages, Brazil faced Chile while Denmark faced Nigeria, and Brazil and Denmark both won the match 4-1 to qualify for the quarterfinals. Netherlands and Yugoslavia faced each other, while the Germans and the Mexicans went head to head. The Germans and the Dutch advanced to the next round by a 2-1 win over their opponents. Italy and Norway went head to head while Romania and Croatia battled it out for a spot in the quarterfinals. Italy and Croatia both won the match 1-0. The match between the host nation France and the Paraguayans went into extra time as the French side won the match 1-0 to advance to the next round. The last match between England and Argentina could not be decided over extra time and therefore went into a penalty shootout. Argentina won the match over penalties and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The four quarterfinals were: Brazil vs. Denmark, Netherlands vs. Argentina, Italy vs. France and Germany vs. Croatia. Brazil won their match 3-2 and qualified for the semifinals. Netherlands advanced as well by defeating the South American side 2-1 to meet Brazil in the semifinals. The match between the Italians and the host nation France went onto penalties as it ended in a goalless draw. France advanced by defeating the Italians. Croatia made an upset by defeating the Germans by a 3 goal margin to qualify for the semifinals.
The semifinals were supposed to be very thrilling. The first semifinal was between Brazil and Netherlands, and the second was between France and Croatia. The match between Brazil and Netherlands could not be decided within 90 minutes or even extra time and it was drawn 1-1; therefore, the match headed to penalties, where the Brazilians won the match 4-2 to qualify for the final. The host nation France managed to impress by winning over the very impressive Croatian side and defeating them 2-1 to meet Brazil in the final.
The final was an exhilarating experience for football fans everywhere. Even though the host nation was France, many of the fans were supporting the South American side because of their amazing play of football. France, however, overcame the odds that night and defeated their South American opponents 3-0 to win the World Cup. This final marked the beginning of a wonderful player named Zidane, later to be known by the nickname “Zazu”. Zidane opened the scoring in the first half during the 27th minute, and then eventually confirmed the team’s win over their opponents by scoring a second goal in the stoppage time of the first half. The Brazilians looked as if they were no match for the host nation, as they were being crushed by them. In the last minute of the match, when the referee was about to blow his whistle, Emmanuel Petit scored the last goal to seal the deal for his team as the French side won the FIFA World Cup 1998 for the first time, and became the sixth nation to have won on home soil. The match between third and fourth place was won by Croatia 2-1. Croatian Davor Suker won the Golden Boot award while the Brazilian legend Ronaldo won the Golden Ball.
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