World Cup 1998 France - Review & History
France became champions for the first time as they swept to victory, beating an out-of-sorts Brazil side 3-0 in the final. Brazil and Italy topped their respective groups, while eventual winners France breezed through, taking maximum points with the raw talent of Thierry Henry impressing on the wing. England finished second to Romania in Group G. A 2-1 defeat against the Romanians was sandwiched between wins over Tunisia and Colombia. Argentina were looking dangerous as they also scooped nine points.
In the second round, Brazil cruised to a 4-1 win against Chile, while in contrast, France scraped a 1-0 win against Paraguay with Laurent Blanc scoring a 'golden goal'. England battled bravely against Argentina, only to lose on penalties. Michael Owen launched himself onto the world stage by scoring the goal of the tournament, a solo run ended with a superb shot into the top corner. In the quarter-finals, France were less than convincing in their shoot-out win against Italy, while Brazil beat a spirited Denmark side 3-2. A fantastic moment of individual brilliance saw Dennis Bergkamp seal a 2-1 victory for Holland against Argentina, while an exciting Croatia side crushed Germany 3-0.
In the semi-finals, Brazil overcame Holland on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while defender Lilian Thuram scored twice for France to end Croatian hopes. Ronaldo made the headlines in the build-up to the final as his name was initially left off the teamsheet before he eventually did participate. Zinedine Zidane stole the show, scoring twice in a 3-0 win for the French.
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World Cup 1998 results (Held in France)
FINAL - Stade de France, Paris
France 3-0 Brazil
TOP SCORER World Cup 1998
Davor Suker (Croatia) 6
Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) 5
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