1998 FA Cup Final, Aftermath and legacy
The 1998 Cup final was the climax to an eventful season for Wenger, who became the first manager born outside of the British Isles to complete the double. As well as revitalising the club, his style of management was heralded as revolutionary. Rob Hughes in his Times column of 18 May 1998 credited the Arsenal manager for demonstrating "what there is to learn from overseas", and for blending players of different ages and cultural backgrounds into a successful squad.


1998 FA Cup Final, Aftermath and legacy
The 1998 double-winning team is regarded as one of English football's finest; former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs later described them as one of his toughest opponents: "They just had a bit of everything really. Quality with Bergkamp, pace with Anelka and Overmars, the experience of the back four, and then the toughness of Vieira and Petit in midfield."


1998 FA Cup Final, Aftermath and legacy
For Newcastle, success was hard to come by. In August 1998, just two matches into the Premier League season, Dalglish was dismissed, replaced by former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit. Although the team reached another FA Cup final in 1999, they were again losing finalists.


1998 FA Trophy Final
The 1998 FA Trophy Final was the 29th final of the FA Trophy, the Football Association's cup competition for levels 5–8 of the English football league system. It was contested by Cheltenham Town and Southport on 17 May 1998 at Wembley, London.


1998 FA Trophy Final
Cheltenham Town won the match 1–0 to win the first major silverware in the club's history.


1998 FAI 1000
The 1998 FAI 1000 Classic was the second running of the Australia 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 the previous year. It was the 41st race that traces its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island. 1998 was the 36th year in which a touring car endurance race had been held at the Mount Panorama Circuit.


1998 FAI 1000
The event, which was contested by V8 Supercars, was held on 15 November 1998 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst.


1998 FAI 1000, Results, Top 10 shootout
* Mark Skaife became the first driver to lap a touring car around the 6.213 km (3.861 mi) Mount Panorama Circuit in under 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Skaife qualified his Holden Racing Team VT Commodore in 2:09.8945. His time was 2.93 seconds faster than his own time set in the twin-turbo, 4WD Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R in 1991, the fastest Group A time on The Mountain, and 3.96 seconds faster than George Fury's, Group C time in 1984 in a Nissan Bluebird Turbo on the old 6.172 km (3.835 mi) (pre-Caltex Chase) circuit. * Greg Murphy did not take part in the Top 10 shootout after badly damaging his car in a crash during Friday practice.


1998 FEI World Equestrian Games
The 1998 FEI World Equestrian Games were held in Rome, Italy from October 1 to October 11, 1998. They were the 3rd edition of the games which are held every four years and run by the FEI.


1998 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup
The 1998 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup season was the 6th season of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup. Jean-Louis Schlesser was the drivers' champion driving his own buggy. Mitsubishi won the Manufacturers' cup.


1998 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, Drivers' Championship
The best 6 results, including not more than the best 2 results in Bajas, are taken into account for the final classification of the Cup.


1998 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, Manufacturers' Championship
In order to be featured in the final classification of the Cup, a manufacturer must enter at least 5 events. Only Group T1 and T2 cars are eligible.


1998 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, Manufacturers' Championship
The best 6 results, including not more than the best 2 results in Bajas, are taken into account for the final classification of the Cup.


1998 FIA GT A1-Ring 500km
The 1998 FIA GT A1-Ring 500 km was the eighth round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the A1-Ring, Austria, on September 20, 1998.


1998 FIA GT A1-Ring 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Budapest 500km
The 1998 FIA GT Budapest 500 km was the fifth round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the Hungaroring, Hungary, on July 19, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Budapest 500km
Due to a large accident on the first lap, the race was red flagged. The initial start was nullified and the race was restarted, running for its full original distance. Four cars which were damaged in the initial accident did not take the restart.


1998 FIA GT Budapest 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Championship
The 1998 FIA GT Championship was the second season of FIA GT Championship, an auto racing series endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The races featured grand touring cars conforming to two categories of regulations, GT1 and GT2, and awarded driver and team championships in each category. The season began on 12 April 1998 and ended on 25 October 1998 after ten rounds, visiting Europe, Japan, and the United States.


1998 FIA GT Championship
The GT1 championships were won by Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta of repeat champions AMG Mercedes, while the GT2 title was awarded to Olivier Beretta and Pedro Lamy of Viper Team Oreca. Following the season, the GT1 category was eliminated from the FIA GT Championship due to a lack of entries for 1999.


1998 FIA GT Championship, Schedule
All races were shortened to a 500 km (310 mi) distance with the exception of Suzuka. Oschersleben replaced the Nürburgring as the second German round of the series, while Hungaroring and Dijon-Prenois replaced Mugello, Spa, and Helskini for the rest of the European calendar.


1998 FIA GT Championship, Results and standings, Race results
Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each category. Entries were required to complete 75% of the race distance in order to be classified as a finisher. Drivers were required to complete 20% of the total race distance for their car to earn points. Teams scored points for all cars that finished a race.


1998 FIA GT Dijon 500km
The 1998 FIA GT Dijon 500 km was the fourth round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at Dijon-Prenois, France, on July 12, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Dijon 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Donington 500km
The 1998 FIA GT Donington 500 km was the seventh round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at Donington Park, United Kingdom, on 6 September 1998.


1998 FIA GT Donington 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Donington 500km, Official results
† – #70 Marcos Racing International was disqualified for failing post-race technical inspection. The car was found to have used fuel which did not meet FIA regulations.


1998 FIA GT Donington 500km, Official results
‡ – #58 Roock Sportsystem was disqualified for failing post-race technical inspection. The car was found to have used an illegal amount of turbo boost.


1998 FIA GT Hockenheim 500km
The 1998 FIA GT Hockenheim 500 km was the third round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the Hockenheimring, Germany, on June 28, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Hockenheim 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Homestead 500km
The 1998 FIA GT Homestead 500 km was the ninth round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Florida, United States on October 18, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Homestead 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Laguna Seca 500km
The 1998 Visa Sports Car Championships was the tenth and final round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the Laguna Seca Raceway, California, United States on October 25, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Laguna Seca 500km
This race shared the weekend with a Professional SportsCar Racing Championship event.


1998 FIA GT Laguna Seca 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Oschersleben 500km
The 1998 Oschersleben 500 was the opening round the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. It took place at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Germany, on April 12, 1998.


1998 FIA GT Oschersleben 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIA GT Oschersleben 500km, Official results
† – #57 Roock Racing was disqualified after failing post-race technical inspection. The car was found to have an illegal rear wing.


1998 FIA GT Silverstone 500km
The 1998 British Empire Trophy was the second round of the 1998 FIA GT Championship. It took place at the Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom on 17 May 1998.


1998 FIA GT Silverstone 500km, Official results
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


1998 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
The 1998 FIBA Africa Basketball Club Championship (16th edition), is an international basketball tournament  held in Fes, Morocco from December 4 to 6, 1998. The tournament was contested by 4 clubs in a round robin system.


1998 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
The tournament was won by MAS Fez from Morocco, with Gezira SC from Egypt, as the defending champion.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
The 1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship was the 11th FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Egypt from August 27 to September 3, 1998.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
Nigeria ended the round-robin tournament with a 5–0 unbeaten record to win their fourth title.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
Both winner and runner-up qualified for the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women
The 1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women was the 5th FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Senegal from August 15 to 22, 1999.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women
Angola ended the double round-robin tournament with a 6–0 unbeaten record to win their first title.


1998 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 1998 FIBA Africa Championship.


1998 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four
The 1998 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four was the 1997–98 season's FIBA EuroLeague Final Four tournament, organized by FIBA Europe.


1998 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four
Kinder Bologna won its first title, after defeating AEK in the EuroLeague Finals, in the lowest scoring final ever.


1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
The 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball  competition held in Bulgaria in 1998.


1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
The 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 1998 European Championship for Men '22 and Under') was the fourth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Trapani, in Italy, hosted the tournament. Yugoslavia won their first title.


1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Preliminary round
The twelve teams were allocated in two groups of six teams each.


1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Final standings
Milan Dozet, Veselin Petrović, Igor Rakočević, Aleksandar Glintić, Stevan Nađfeji, Jovo Stanojević, Marko Jarić, Dragan Ćeranić, Dejan Milojević, Ratko Varda, and Bojan Obradović. Head Coach: Goran Bojanić.


1998 FIBA World Championship
The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 nations and the matches were played in two venues in Athens.


1998 FIBA World Championship
Because of the National Basketball Association lockout and unlike in the previous championship, the USA Basketball Association was unable to send a team composed of NBA players, thus causing the American national team roster consisting of professional basketball players playing in Europe and two college players. The tournament was won by FR Yugoslavia, in their first participation after the breakup of Yugoslavia, defeating Russia in the final 64–62.


1998 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
Greece and the United States qualified automatically, the firstbecause of its status as host country, and the latter due toearning a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.


1998 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
The remaining places were secured according to the differentcontinental tournaments held in 1997.


1998 FIBA World Championship, Preliminary round
The top three teams in each group advance to the second round, into either Group E or F. The fourth place team in each group moves onto the 13th–16th classification.


1998 FIBA World Championship, Second round
First three teams in each group of the first group phase qualify to the second phase, creating two new groups of six teams. The final standings also take in account the results of previous round matches.


1998 FIBA World Championship for Women
The 1998 FIBA Women's World Championship (German: 1998 FIBA Frauen-Weltmeisterschaft) was hosted by Germany from May 26 to June 7, 1998. The USA won the tournament, defeating Russia 71-65 in the final.


1998 FIBA World Championship for Women, Second round
Scores and results from the first round shall be carried over to the second round.


1998 FIBA World Championship squads
The 1998 FIBA World Championship squads were the squads of the 1998 FIBA World Championship. The list includes the 12-men rosters of the 16 participating countries, totaling 192 players.


1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It 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 (the first was in 1938) and the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32 days, it is the longest World Cup tournament ever held.


1998 FIFA World Cup
Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997. For the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums in 10 host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the newly built Stade de France in the Parisian commune of Saint-Denis.


1998 FIFA World Cup
The tournament was won by host country France, who beat defending champions Brazil 3–0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
France was awarded the 1998 World Cup on 2 July 1992 by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. They defeated Morocco by 12 votes to 7. Switzerland withdrew, due to being unable to meet FIFA's requirements. This made France the third country to host two World Cups, after Mexico and Italy in 1986 and 1990 respectively. France previously hosted the third edition of the World Cup in 1938. England, who hosted the competition in 1966 and won it, were among the original applicants, but later withdrew their application in favour of an ultimately successful bid to host UEFA Euro 1996.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption investigations
On 4 June 2015, while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities, Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and other members of FIFA's executive committee were bribed during the 1998 and 2010 World Cups host selection process. Blazer stated that "we facilitated bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup". Since France won the selection process it was initially thought the bribery came from its bid committee. It eventually transpired that the bribe payment was from the failed Moroccan bid.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, Paris on 12 December 1995. As tournament hosts, France was exempt from the draw as was defending champion Brazil. 174 teams from six confederations participated, 24 more than in the previous round. Fourteen countries qualified from the European zone (in addition to hosts France). Ten were determined after group play – nine group winners and the best second-placed team; the other eight group runners-up were drawn into pairs of four play-off matches with the winners qualifying for the finals as well.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
CONMEBOL (South America) and CAF (Africa) were each given five spots in the final tournament, while three spots were contested between 30 CONCACAF members in the North and Central America and the Caribbean zone. The winner of the Oceanian zone advanced to an intercontinental play-off against the runner-up of the Asian play-off, determined by the two best second placed teams.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
Four nations qualified for the first time: Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa. The last team to qualify was Iran by virtue of beating Australia in a two-legged tie on 29 November 1997. It marked their first appearance in the finals since 1978, the last time Tunisia also qualified for the tournament. Chile qualified for the first time since 1982, after serving a ban that saw them miss out on the two previous tournaments. Paraguay and Denmark returned for the first time since 1986.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
Austria, England, Scotland and Yugoslavia returned after missing out on the 1994 tournament, with the Balkan team now appearing under the name of FR Yugoslavia. Among the teams who failed to qualify were two-time winners Uruguay (for the second successive tournament); Sweden, who finished third in 1994; Russia (who failed to qualify for the first time since 1978 after losing to Italy in the play-off round); and the Republic of Ireland, who had qualified for the previous two tournaments.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
As of 2020, this is the most recent time that Austria, Scotland, Norway, Bulgaria and Romania have qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and the only time that Jamaica have qualified, as well as the last time that Portugal missed out. The highest ranked teams not to qualify were Australia ,Czech Republic, Greece, Algeria and New Zealand (ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Nigeria (ranked 74th).


1998 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, List of qualified teams
The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Venues
France's bid to host the World Cup centered on a national stadium with 80,000 seats and nine other stadiums located across the country. When the finals were originally awarded in July 1992, none of the regional club grounds were of a capacity meeting FIFA's requirements – namely being able to safely seat 40,000. The proposed national stadium, colloquially referred to as the 'Grand stade', met with controversy at every stage of planning; the stadium's location was determined by politics, finance and national symbolism.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Venues
As Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac successfully negotiated a deal with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to bring the Stade de France, as it was now called, to the commune of Saint-Denis just north of the capital city. Construction on the stadium started in December 1995 and was completed after 26 months of work in November 1997 at a cost of ₣2.67 billion.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Venues
The choice of stadium locations was drafted from an original list of 14 cities. FIFA and CFO monitored the progress and quality of preparations, culminating in the former providing final checks of the grounds weeks before the tournament commenced. Montpellier was the surprise inclusion from the final list of cities because of its low urban hierarchy in comparison to Strasbourg, who boasted a better hierarchy and success from its local football team, having been taken over by a consortium. Montpellier however was considered ambitious by the selecting panel to host World Cup matches.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Venues
The local city and regional authorities in particular had invested heavily into football the previous two decades and were able to measure economic effects, in terms of jobs as early as in 1997. Some of the venues used for this tournament were also used for the previous World Cup in France in 1938. The Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, the Stade Municipal in Toulouse, the Gerland in Lyon, the Parc Lescure in Bordeaux and the Parc des Princes in Paris received the honour of hosting World Cup matches once again in 1998 as they had all done in 1938.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Venues
10 stadiums in total were used for the finals; in addition to nine matches being played at the Stade de France (the most used stadium in the tournament), a further six matches took place in Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes, bringing Paris's total matches hosted to 15. France played four of their seven matches in the national stadium; they also played in the country's second and third largest cities, Marseille (hosting 7 total matches) and Lyon (hosting 6 total matches), as well as a Round of 16 knockout match in the northern city of Lens (also hosting 6 total matches). Nantes, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Saint-Etienne also hosted 6 matches in total; all of the stadiums used also hosted knockout round matches.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Technologies
This was the first FIFA World Cup where fourth officials used electronic boards, instead of cardboard.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Rule changes
This was the first World Cup since the introduction of golden goals, banning of tackles from behind that endanger the safety of an opponent and allowance of three substitutions per game.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Match officials
34 referees and 33 assistants officiated in the 1998 World Cup. As a result of the extension to 32 teams in the finals, there was an increase of 10 referees and 11 officials from the 1994 World Cup.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Draw
Organiser Michel Platini, who later became president of UEFA, admitted in 2018 that the draw for the group stage of the competition had been fixed so that France and Brazil were kept apart until the final, telling France Bleu Sport: "We did a bit of trickery. When we were organising the schedule. We did not spend six years organising the World Cup to not do some little shenanigans".


1998 FIFA World Cup, Squads
As with the preceding tournament, each team's squad for the 1998 World Cup finals consisted of 22 players. Each participating national association had to confirm their final 22-player squad by 1 June 1998.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Squads
Out of the 704 players participating in the 1998 World Cup, 447 were signed up with a European club; 90 in Asia, 67 in South America, 61 in Northern and Central America and 37 in Africa. 75 played their club football in England – five more than Italy and Spain. Barcelona of Spain was the club contributing to the most players in the tournament with 13 players on their side.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Squads
The average age of all teams was 27 years, 8 months – five months older than the previous tournament. Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon was the youngest player selected in the competition at 17 years, 3 months, while the oldest was Jim Leighton of Scotland at 39 years, 11 months.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group A
Defending champions Brazil won Group A after only two matches as the nation achieved victories over Scotland (2–1) and Morocco (3–0). Heading into the third game, Brazil had nothing to play for but still started its regulars against Norway, who was looking to upset Brazil once again. Needing a victory, Norway overturned a 1–0 deficit with 12 minutes remaining to defeat Brazil 2–1, with Kjetil Rekdal scoring the winning penalty to send Norway into the knockout stage for the first time.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group A
Scotland managed only one point, coming in a 1–1 draw against Norway, and failed to get out of the first round for an eighth time in the FIFA World Cup, a record that stands to this date.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group B
Italy and Chile progressed to the second round, while Austria failed to win for the first time since 1958 and Cameroon failed to get out of the group stage for the second time in a row.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group C
France, the host nation, swept Group C when the start of their path to their first FIFA World Cup trophy culminated with their 2–1 win over Denmark, who despite their loss, progressed to the second round. Saudi Arabia, after a good performance four years earlier, finished bottom with only one point. Debutant South Africa grabbed two points and also exited at the group stage.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group D
Nigeria and Paraguay advanced to the Round of 16 after a surprise elimination of top seed Spain, while Bulgaria failed to repeat their surprise performance from the previous tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group E
The Netherlands and Mexico advanced with the same record (The Netherlands placed first on goal difference); Belgium and eventual 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosts South Korea failed to advance.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group F
Germany and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia advanced, each with 7 points (Germany took 1st through goal differential tiebreak). Iran and 1994 host United States failed to advance.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group G
Romania and England became Group G top finishers as Colombia and Tunisia were unable to reach the last 16, despite Colombia having one win.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group H
Argentina and World Cup debutants Croatia finished at the top of Group H. Two other debutants, Jamaica and Japan, failed to advance.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage
The knockout stage comprised the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes was followed by 30 minutes of extra time; if scores were still level, there was a penalty shoot-out to determine who progressed to the next round. Golden goal comes into play if a team scores during extra time, thus becoming the winner which concludes the game.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Third place play-off
Croatia beat the Netherlands to earn third place in the competition. Davor Šuker scored the winner in the 35th minute to secure the golden boot.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The final was held on 12 July 1998 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis. France defeated holders Brazil 3–0, with two goals from Zinedine Zidane and a stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit. The win gave France their first World Cup title, becoming the sixth national team after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina to win the tournament on their home soil. They also inflicted the second-heaviest World Cup defeat on Brazil, later to be topped by Brazil's 7–1 defeat by Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The pre-match build up was dominated by the omission of Brazilian striker Ronaldo from the starting lineup only to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off. He managed to create the first open chance for Brazil in the 22nd minute, dribbling past defender Thuram before sending a cross out on the left side that goalkeeper Fabien Barthez struggled to hold onto. France however took the lead after Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos conceded a corner from which Zidane scored via a header. Three minutes before half-time, Zidane scored his second goal of the match, similarly another header from a corner.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The tournament hosts went down to ten men in the 68th minute as Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second bookable offence. Brazil reacted to this by making an attacking substitution and although they applied pressure France sealed the win with a third goal: substitute Patrick Vieira set up his club teammate Petit in a counterattack to shoot low past goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
French president Jacques Chirac was in attendance to congratulate and commiserate the winners and runners-up respectively after the match. Several days after the victory, winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team with immediate effect.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
Davor Šuker received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 171 goals were scored by 112 players:


1998 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, All-star team
The All-star team is a squad consisting of the 16 most impressive players at the 1998 World Cup, as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, All-star team
Roberto Carlos  Marcel Desailly Lilian Thuram Frank de Boer Carlos Gamarra


1998 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Final standings
After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1998 World Cup finals based on progress in the competition and overall results.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Symbols, Mascot
The official mascot was Footix, a rooster first presented in May 1996. It was created by graphic designer Fabrice Pialot and selected from a shortlist of five mascots. Research carried out about the choice of having a cockerel as a mascot was greatly received: 91% associated it immediately with France, the traditional symbol of the nation. Footix, the name chosen by French television viewers, is a portmanteau of "football" and the ending "-ix" from the popular Astérix comic strip. The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's flag and home strip – blue for the jump suit, a red crest and with the words 'France 98' coloured in white.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Symbols, Official song
The official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup was "The Cup of Life," aka "La Copa de la Vida" recorded by Ricky Martin.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Symbols, Match ball
The match ball for the 1998 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas was named the Tricolore, meaning 'three-coloured' in French. It was the eighth World Cup match ball made for the tournament by the German company and was the first in the series to be multi-coloured. The tricolour flag and cockerel, traditional symbols of France were used as inspiration for the design.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Sponsorship
The sponsors of the 1998 FIFA World Cup are divided into two categories: FIFA World Cup Sponsors and France Supporters.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Sponsorship
The absence of Budweiser (which was one of the sponsors in the previous two World Cups) is notable due to the Evin law, which forbids alcohol-related sponsorship in France, including in sports events (and thus, being replaced by Casio).


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Broadcasting
FIFA, through several companies, sold the broadcasting rights for the 1998 FIFA World Cup to many broadcasters. In the UK BBC and ITV had the broadcasting rights. The pictures and audio of the competition were supplied to the TV and radio channels by the company TVRS 98, the broadcaster of the tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Broadcasting
The World Cup matches were broadcast in 200 countries. 818 photographers were credited for the tournament. In every match, a stand was reserved for the press. The number of places granted to them reached its maximum in the final, when 1,750 reporters and 110 TV commentators were present in the stand.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Video games
In most of the world, the official video game was, World Cup 98 released by EA Sports on 13 March 1998 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy. It was the first international football game developed by Electronic Arts since obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997 and received mostly favourable reviews.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Video games
In Japan, Konami was granted the FIFA World Cup licence and produced two distinct video games: Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France 98 by KCEO for the Nintendo 64, and World Soccer Jikkyou Winning Eleven 3: World Cup France '98 by KCET for the PlayStation. These games were released in the rest of the world as International Superstar Soccer '98 and International Superstar Soccer Pro '98, without the official FIFA World Cup licence, branding or real player names.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Video games
Also in Japan, Sega was granted the FIFA World Cup licence to produce the Saturn video game World Cup '98 France: Road to Win.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Video games
Many other video games, including World League Soccer 98, Actua Soccer 2 and Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory were released in the buildup to the 1998 World Cup and evidently were based on the tournament. FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, also by EA Sports focused on the qualification stage.


1998 FIFA World Cup, Legacy
Honorary FIFA President João Havelange praised France's hosting of the World Cup, describing the tournament as one that would "remain with me forever, as I am sure they will remain with everyone who witnessed this unforgettable competition". Lennart Johansson, the chairman of the organising committee for the World Cup and President of UEFA added that France provided "subject matter of a quality that made the world hold its breath".


1998 FIFA World Cup, Legacy
Cour des Comptes, the quasi-judicial body of the French government, released its report on the organisation of the 1998 World Cup in 2000.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final
The 1998 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that was played on 12 July 1998 at the Stade de France in the Parisian commune of Saint-Denis to determine the winner of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The final was contested by defending champions Brazil and the host nation France, marking the first time that a World Cup final was disputed between the host nation and the defending champion. France won the match 3–0 to claim their maiden World Cup, with the timing of the match two days before Bastille Day adding to the significance of the victory. Zinedine Zidane, who was named man of the match, scored twice before half-time and Emmanuel Petit added a third goal in the last minute. The match had an attendance in the region of 75,000.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final
On their way to the final, defending champions Brazil, coached by their former player Mário Zagallo, recorded victories over Scotland (2–1) and Morocco (3–0) to top their group with six points from three matches, suffering a surprise 2–1 defeat at the hands of Norway in their final group game. After a 4–1 win over Chile and a 3–2 success against Denmark, they reached the final with a penalty shoot-out victory over the Netherlands. As for France, they won their three group matches and defeated Paraguay in the knockout stages on golden goals. They had a penalty shoot-out with Italy in the quarter-finals, and defeated recently formed Croatia to reach the final for the very first time in team history.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final
The match also saw speculation on the condition of the Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who suffered a convulsive fit on the eve of the match. After initially being left out of the team sheet, in spite of his physical state, it was announced just 72 minutes before kick-off that he was going to play. In the match, he sustained an injury in a clash with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Although it was believed that the decision to play Ronaldo had backfired, it was understandable as the player had been a crucial member of the side throughout the tournament, having scored four goals and created three more.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Brazil
Brazil were drawn in Group A for the group stages alongside Scotland, Morocco and Norway. They recorded victories over Scotland (2–1) and Morocco (3–0) to progress but lost their final game 2–1 to Norway.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Brazil
They next faced Group B runners-up Chile in the last-16 and comprehensively won 4–1, Ronaldo and César Sampaio each scoring twice. In the quarter-finals, they played Denmark, who had also won their previous game 4–1 (against Nigeria), but Brazil won a tight game 3–2. Despite being 1–0 down to a Martin Jorgensen goal in the second minute, Brazil turned the game around in their favour with goals from Bebeto (11) and Rivaldo (27). Brian Laudrup equalised for Denmark after 50 minutes but Brazil won the game 10 minutes later courtesy of a second from Rivaldo.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Brazil
In the semi-finals, Brazil faced the Netherlands in Marseille. The game finished 1–1 at full-time, Ronaldo scoring just after half-time and Patrick Kluivert equalising for the Netherlands in the 87th minute, and the score remained the same through extra-time. The match had to be settled by penalties which Brazil won 4–2 to reach their second successive World Cup final.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
France were drawn in Group C alongside Denmark, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. They started their campaign with an easy 3–0 win over South Africa followed by a convincing 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia. France secured top spot in their group courtesy of a 2–1 win over Denmark with goals from Youri Djorkaeff and Emmanuel Petit.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
In the second round, they faced Group D runners-up Paraguay. France won a close encounter 1–0 in extra time thanks to a golden goal scored by Laurent Blanc. In the quarter-finals France faced Italy who had also scraped through to the quarter-finals with a 1–0 win over Norway. A tense match ended 0–0 after extra time and France won 4–3 on penalties after Italy's Luigi Di Biagio struck his penalty onto the crossbar.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
In the semi-finals, France faced tournament surprise Croatia. After a goal-less first half, Croatia took the lead in the first minute of the second half through Davor Šuker, his fifth goal of the tournament. France responded immediately with Lilian Thuram scoring his first international goal. Thuram then added a second twenty minutes from time to send France to their first ever World Cup final. The match ended in controversy however when Blanc was sent off after a skirmish with Croatia's Slaven Bilić. Bilić had sunk down to his knees, seemingly in pain. Replays showed, however, that there was minimal contact between the players. Blanc's expulsion meant he would miss the final.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
The build-up was dominated by the fitness of Brazil's star striker, Ronaldo, amid reports that he had suffered a pre-match fit.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Zinedine Zidane gave France the lead just before the half-hour mark with a header from an in-swinging corner from the right taken by Emmanuel Petit. Only minutes later, Ronaldo was put through on goal by a long ball from Dunga, but he could not get the better of the onrushing Fabien Barthez, who collided with the Brazilian striker. Both needed assistance from the squad medics but quickly recovered.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Brazil's superstar playmakers Leonardo and Rivaldo were kept quiet by Didier Deschamps and Christian Karembeu, and Brazil found it difficult to outflank the French as wingbacks Bixente Lizarazu and Lillian Thuram helped neutralize their offensive minded counterparts as Cafu and Roberto Carlos were unable to contribute to Brazil's attack the way they had in the previous matches of the tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
As stoppage time began, France had an excellent chance to double their lead when a miscue by Brazil's two central defenders, Junior Baiano and Aldair, put Stéphane Guivarc'h one on one with Claudio Taffarel, but the French striker hit a weak effort that was saved by Taffarel out for a corner. France doubled their lead a minute later, as Brazil could only clear the first corner out for another corner, this time from the left, Zidane scored another bouncing header that was almost identical to his first, to give the French a two-goal lead.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
In the second half, Ronaldo had a chance to halve the deficit. The ball fell for him inside the penalty box, but he could only plant his shot into Barthez's arms. Brazil would have another chance when Denílson hit the bar from a good chance inside the penalty area. France had to play the last 20 minutes with only 10 men following the dismissal of Marcel Desailly after he picked up two yellow cards for two reckless fouls. Midfielder Emmanuel Petit wrapped up the scoring in the 90+3rd minute, after receiving a through ball from his Arsenal teammate Patrick Vieira, slotting the ball low into the net.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Mark Warren (England)Achmat Salie (South Africa)Fourth official:Rahman Al Zaid (Saudi Arabia)


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
France became the sixth out of – as of 2018 – seven countries to win the World Cup in its first appearance in the final, 32 years after the most recent team to have achieved so, England (1966). It also became the sixth and – as of 2018 – most recent country to win on home soil. Desailly became the first player to be red carded and win the World Cup.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
For Brazil, this marked only the second time that they had lost a World Cup final, following their 2–1 upset loss to Uruguay in the de facto final of the 1950 World Cup on home soil, nicknamed the Maracanazo in Brazil. The 3–0 scoreline was also Brazil's largest loss in the World Cup, up until their 7–1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final, which was also played in Brazil.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
French president Jacques Chirac, the International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, the newly-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his predecessor João Havelange, UEFA president Lennart Johansson, and co-president of local organizing committee Michel Platini were among those present at the stands during the awards ceremony. President Chirac handed the trophy to French captain Didier Deschamps.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
France followed up their victory by qualifying for and winning the UEFA Euro 2000 held in the Netherlands and Belgium. Brazil took the Copa América title in 1999, and won the next World Cup in Japan and South Korea. France would become the first World Cup holders to be eliminated in the tournament's first round, before returning to the final in 2006. They defeated Brazil 1–0 in the quarter-finals en route to the final defeat against Italy.


1998 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
Ronaldo went on to set the record for most goals scored in World Cup finals (15) in 2006, which was later broken by Miroslav Klose of Germany in 2014. Blanc and Deschamps would later have spells as manager of the France national team, with the latter leading them to a second World Cup title 20 years later in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making him only the third man to have won the World Cup as both player and manager after Brazil's Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer. Many of the French players who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 are also part of the France 98 charity association, with Deschamps as president and Jacquet as coach for charity matches and testimonials.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A
Group A of the 1998 FIFA World Cup was one of eight groups of four teams competing at the 1998 World Cup in France. The first matches were played on 10 June 1998 and the final games took place simultaneously on 23 June 1998.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A
The group consisted of world champions Brazil, Norway, Scotland and Morocco. Matches took place at six different venues around France.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A
After Brazil beat Scotland and Morocco while Norway drew with Morocco and Scotland, Brazil had qualified as group winners with a game to spare. With ten minutes to go in the final two games, Morocco looked like they would take second place, because they were beating Scotland while Brazil were beating Norway. However, Norway scored two late goals to win and take the second qualifying place away from Morocco.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Brazil vs Scotland
Assistant referees:Fernando Tresaco Gracia (Spain)Jorge Luis Arango (Colombia)Fourth official:Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Morocco vs Norway
Assistant referees: Halim Abdul Hamid (Malaysia) Nimal Wickramatunge (Sri Lanka)Fourth official:Eddie Lennie (Australia)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Scotland vs Norway
Assistant referees:Evžen Amler (Czech Republic)Laurent Rausis (Switzerland)Fourth official:Abdul Rahman Al-Zeid (Saudi Arabia)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Scotland vs Morocco
Assistant referees: Luis Torres Zúñiga (Costa Rica) Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)Fourth official:László Vágner (Hungary)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Brazil vs Norway
Assistant referees: Gennaro Mazzei (Italy) Dramane Danté (Mali)Fourth official:Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B
Italy finished clear winners of this group with seven points. Injury-time equalisers for Austria, first against Cameroon and then against Chile, meant that all three of these teams could still qualify with one match to go. Austria were then eliminated after losing their final game to Italy (despite scoring once again in injury-time). Chile conceded equalisers in all their games, but their three draws were enough for them to qualify in second place and advance with a record-low three points.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Italy vs Chile
Assistant referees: Dramane Danté (Mali) Mohamed Mansri (Tunisia)Fourth official:Marc Batta (France)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Cameroon vs Austria
Assistant referees: Celestino Galván (Paraguay) Reynaldo Salinas (Honduras)Fourth official:Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Chile vs Austria
Assistant referees: Hussain Ghadanfari (Kuwait) Fernando Tresaco Gracia (Spain)Fourth official:Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Italy vs Cameroon
Assistant referees: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu) Claudio Rossi (Argentina)Fourth official:Pirom Un-Prasert (Thailand)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Italy vs Austria
Assistant referees:Mark Warren (England)Jeon Young-Hyun (South Korea)Fourth official:Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Chile vs Cameroon
Assistant referees:Nimal Wickramatunge (Sri Lanka)Halim Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)Fourth official:José María García-Aranda (Spain)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C
At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. Group C was composed of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Denmark and host nation France.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C
Denmark and France started well, defeating Saudi Arabia and South Africa respectively. Next, France scored four to eliminate Saudi Arabia and qualify with a match to spare, while Denmark and South Africa drew. Needing a big win in their final game, against Saudi Arabia, South Africa conceded two penalties and could only draw, so Denmark still qualified despite losing their final game to France.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Saudi Arabia vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Claudio Rossi (Argentina)Jorge Diaz Garcia (Chile)Fourth official:Hugh Dallas (Scotland)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, France vs South Africa
Assistant referees:Arnaldo Pinto (Brazil)Merere Gonzales (Trinidad and Tobago)Fourth official:Mario Sánchez Yanten (Chile)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, South Africa vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Jorge Luis Arango (Colombia)Celestino Galván (Paraguay)Fourth official:Epifanio González (Paraguay)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, France vs Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi was sent off in the 19th minute after tripping Bixente Lizarazu from behind. Zinedine Zidane was ejected at the 71st minute when he appeared to plant his studs into the side of Saudi captain Fuad Anwar after they collided going for a ball.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, France vs Saudi Arabia
Assistant referees:Reynaldo Salinas (Honduras)Luis Torres Zuniga (Costa Rica)Fourth official:Alberto Tejada Noriega (Peru)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, France vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Marc Van den Broeck (Belgium)Emanuel Zammit (Malta)Fourth official:Vítor Melo Pereira (Portugal)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, South Africa vs Saudi Arabia
Assistant referees:Owen Powell (Jamaica)Eddie Foley (Ireland)Fourth official:Alberto Tejada Noriega (Peru)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D
Nigeria won their first two games while Paraguay drew their first two games 0–0, which meant that Nigeria were certain of qualifying in first place with a game to spare. In their final game, Spain got their only victory after scoring six against Bulgaria, but were still eliminated in third place after Paraguay beat Nigeria. Thus, Spain were the only top seed not to advance to the second round, while all others topped their respective groups.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Paraguay vs Bulgaria
Assistant referees:Achmat Salie (South Africa)Hussain Ghadanfari (Kuwait)Fourth official:Nikolai Levnikov (Russia)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Spain vs Nigeria
Assistant referees:Luis Torres Zúñiga (Costa Rica)Yuri Dupanov (Belarus)Fourth official:Ian McLeod (South Africa)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Nigeria vs Bulgaria
Assistant referees:Jorge Díaz Gálvez (Chile)Arnaldo Pinto (Brazil)Fourth official:Marcio Rezende (Brazil)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Spain vs Paraguay
Assistant referees:Aristidis Chris Soldatos (South Africa)Owen Powell (Jamaica)Fourth official:Esse Baharmast (United States)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Nigeria vs Paraguay
Assistant referees:Mohamed Al Musawi (Oman)Mikael Nilsson (Sweden)Fourth official:Masayoshi Okada (Japan)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E
Group E was one of eight groups at the 1998 FIFA World Cup into which the 32 teams were divided. Mexico and the Netherlands qualified after they both beat South Korea and drew with Belgium before drawing with each other. The Netherlands' five goals against South Korea put them top on goal difference. Belgium could have qualified with a big win in their final game against South Korea, who were already out, but they only managed a draw and were eliminated.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, South Korea vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)Eric Schneider (Germany)Fourth official:John Toro Lendon (Colombia)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Netherlands vs Belgium
Assistant referees:Gennaro Mazzei (Italy) Emanuel Zammit (Malta)Fourth official:Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Belgium vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Eddie Foley (Ireland)Mohamed Al Musawi (Oman)Fourth official:Javier Castrilli (Argentina)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Netherlands vs South Korea
Assistant referees:Jacek Pocięgiel (Poland)Yuri Dupanov (Belarus)Fourth official:Vitor Melo Pereira (Portugal)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Netherlands vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Fernando Tresaco Garcia (Spain)Hussain Ghadanfari (Kuwait)Fourth official:Rune Pedersen (Norway)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Belgium vs South Korea
Assistant referees:Arnaldo Pinto (Brazil)Jorge Luis Arango (Colombia)Fourth official:Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F
Group F at the 1998 FIFA World Cup comprised Germany and Yugoslavia of UEFA, Iran of the Asian Football Confederation and the United States from the CONCACAF region.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F
Germany and Yugoslavia both started well by beating the United States and Iran respectively. The United States were then eliminated with a match to spare after losing to Iran, while Germany drew with Yugoslavia. Iran needed to win their final game against Germany to qualify but were defeated, which meant that Yugoslavia would still have qualified even without their victory over United States. Germany's two goals against both the United States and Iran put them top on goal difference.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Germany vs United States
Assistant referees:Mohamed Mansri (Tunisia)Mikael Nilsson (Sweden)Fourth official:José María García-Aranda (Spain)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Germany vs FR Yugoslavia
Assistant referees:Emanuel Zammit (Malta)Marc Van den Broeck (Belgium)Fourth official:Masayoshi Okada (Japan)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Germany vs Iran
Assistant referees:Celestino Galvan (Paraguay)Jorge Diaz Galvez (Chile)Fourth official:Javier Castrilli (Argentina)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, United States vs FR Yugoslavia
Assistant referees:Achmat Salie (South Africa)Mark Warren (England)Fourth official:Ian McLeod (South Africa)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group G
At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. The four teams in Group G were England, Romania, Colombia and Tunisia. With wins in their first two games against Colombia and England, followed by a draw against Tunisia, Romania won the group and qualified for the round of 16. England and Colombia were level on points before they played each other in their final match, each having defeated Tunisia and lost to Romania. England, with a better goal difference, only required a draw to advance. They won the match to take the second qualifying place.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, England vs Tunisia
Assistant referees:Jeom Young Hyun (South Korea)Dramane Dante (Mali)Fourth official:Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Romania vs Colombia
Assistant referees:Mohamed Al Musawi (Oman)Halim Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)Fourth official:Urs Meier (Switzerland)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Colombia vs Tunisia
Assistant referees:Erich Schneider (Germany)Evžen Amler (Czech Republic)Fourth official:László Vágner (Hungary)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Romania vs Tunisia
Assistant referees:Jacek Pocięgiel (Poland)Yuri Dupanov (Belarus)Fourth official:Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H
Group H at the 1998 FIFA World Cup comprised CONMEBOL representatives Argentina, and three World Cup debutants: Croatia, competing from the UEFA confederation; Jamaica of CONCACAF; and Japan from the Asian Football Confederation.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H
Argentina qualified with a match to spare after they beat Japan and Jamaica with Gabriel Batistuta scoring in both games. Croatia did the same with Davor Šuker scoring in both games. Argentina then beat Croatia to take first place, while Jamaica got their first ever points in a World Cup finals tournament by beating Japan.


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Argentina vs Japan
Assistant referees:Marc Van den Broeck (Belgium)Eddie Foley (Republic of Ireland)Fourth official:Ryszard Wójcik (Polish)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Japan vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Marere Gonzales (Trinidad and Tobago)Achmat Salie (South Africa)Fourth official:Gunter Benko (Austria)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Argentina vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Aristidis Chris Soldatos (South Africa)Mohamed Mansri (Tunisia)Fourth official:An-Yan Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)


1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Japan vs Jamaica
Assistant referees:Evžen Amler (Czech Republic)Dramane Danté (Mali)Fourth official:Hugh Dallas (Scotland)


1998 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights
FIFA, through several companies, sold the rights for the broadcast of the 1998 FIFA World Cup to the following broadcasters.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
The 1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage covers the games from the second round through to the final at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. The top two teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage. Teams played one game against each other, with the possibility of extra time and penalties if a winner could not be determined after 90 minutes.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Bracket
The first games were played on 27 June 1998 and the final took place on 12 July 1998 in Paris.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Italy vs Norway
Vieri scored his fifth goal of the finals and the only one of the game in the 18th minute with exquisite precision, bursting on to Di Biagio's pass 40 yards from goal. Norway had their moments but failed to finish as Pagliuca made some brilliant saves.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Italy vs Norway
Assistant referees:Erich Schneider (Germany)Marc Van den Broeck (Belgium)Fourth official:Laszlo Vagner (Hungary)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs Paraguay
Assistant referees:Nimal Wickeramatunge (Sri Lanka)Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)Fourth official:Esse Baharmast (United States)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Nigeria vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Hussain Ghadanfari (Kuwait)Fernando Tresaco Gracia (Spain)Fourth official:Rahman Al Zaid (Saudi Arabia)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Mohamed Mansri (Tunisia)Achmat Salie (South Africa)Fourth official:Masayoshi Okada (Japan)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Netherlands vs FR Yugoslavia
Just three minutes after Komljenović scored the equalizer, Mijatović missed a penalty kick as, after deciding not to throw it to the sides due to Van der Sar's reach, the ball hit the crossbar, prompting him to describe it as the worst moment in his career after Davids scored the winning goal for the Netherlands in overtime. Davids, suffering a cramp, had asked to be changed moments before but Hiddink asked him to stay in the field. An apparent scuffle between Van der Sar and Bogarde in the celebration was explained by Van der Sar as an instinctive overreaction from being unintentionally chocked by Van Hooijdonk.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Romania vs Croatia
Croatia's winning penalty goal had to be repeated. Šuker scored both throws to extend Croatia's debut World Cup run to the quarter-finals.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Romania vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Claudio Rossi (Argentina)Arnaldo Pinto (Brazil)Fourth official:An-Yan Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs England
Argentina decided to use their change kit, feeling that it had granted them luck in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between the two sides. All four goals were scored in the first half, making it the first match in the tournament with as many goals scored before half-time. With the score tied at 2–2, David Beckham retaliated after being fouled by Diego Simeone and was sent off. Beckham's teammate Michael Owen subsequently described Beckham's act as "childish and unnecessary", although Owen also said that the burnings of effigies of Beckham were undeserved. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Argentina went first.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs England
David Seaman saved Argentina's second penalty from Hernán Crespo to give England the advantage, but that was immediately cancelled when Carlos Roa saved from Paul Ince. The tie ended with another Roa save, from David Batty. Batty said it was the first penalty he had ever taken. England had also exited on penalties in the recent UEFA Euro 1996.


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs England
Assistant referees:Halim Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)Mohamed Al Musawi (Oman)Fourth official:Rune Pedersen (Norway)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Mohamed Mansri (Tunisia)Dramane Danté (Mali)Fourth official:Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Netherlands vs Argentina
Assistant referees:Owen Powell (Jamaica)Reynaldo Salinas (Honduras)Fourth official:Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Germany vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Mikael Nilsson (Sweden)Marc Van den Broeck (Belgium)Fourth official:Urs Meier (Switzerland)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Hussain Ghadanfari (Kuwait)Mohamed Al Musawi (Oman)Fourth official:Rahman Al Zaid (Saudi Arabia)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Fernando Tresaco Gracia (Spain)Jorge Diaz Galvez (Chile)Fourth official:Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay)


1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final
Assistant referees:Mark Warren (England)Achmat Salie (South Africa)Fourth official:Rahman Al Zaid (Saudi Arabia)


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. The 1998 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with two places reserved for France and Brazil as host nation and defending champions, respectively. The remaining 30 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 174 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
14 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2002 finals: Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Iran, Jamaica, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was:


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
A total of 36 teams entered the competition. The Asian zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
A total of 38 CAF teams entered the competition. However, Mali and Niger both withdrew before the draw was made. The African Zone was allocated five places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
A total of 30 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Mexico, the US, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada, the six highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the third round directly. The remaining 24 teams were divided into two zones, based on geographical locations, as follows:


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
In the third round, the 12 teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. They played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners and runners-up would advance to the final round.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
In the final round, the six teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top three teams would qualify.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Brazil, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition between 9 teams.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
The rules were very simple. The 9 teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top 4 teams would qualify.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
A total of 10 teams entered the competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 15 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. France, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition between 49 teams.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
The 49 teams were divided into nine groups, four groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The runners-up would be ranked according to their records against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups, and the team with the best record would also qualify. The remaining runners-up would advance to the UEFA Play-offs.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
In the play-offs, the 8 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs: AFC v OFC
It was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the losing team in the AFC play-off from the Asian qualifying tournament, Iran. The games were played on 22 and 29 November 1997 in Tehran and Melbourne respectively. Australia was hoping to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974 and Iran in 1978. The second game is known in Iran as the Saga of Melbourne.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
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.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
A total of 36 teams entered the competition. The Asian zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Qualified teams
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
The 1998 FIFA World Cup AFC–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the losing team in the AFC play-off from the Asian qualifying tournament, Iran. The games were played on 22 and 29 November 1997 in Tehran and Melbourne respectively. Australia was hoping to play in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974 and Iran in 1978.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Play-off match, First leg
Prior to arrival in Tehran, Terry Venables and others involved in the Australian national team had made negative comments about Iran, stating it as being dangerous, and going so far as to bring their own drinking water for their stay.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Play-off match, First leg
The first leg of the play-off, on 22 November 1997, took place in Tehran, Iran, with the result a 1–1 draw. Attendance for this match was extremely high, as 128,000 fans packed Azadi Stadium, despite it only having a capacity for 100,000 fans at the time.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Play-off match, Second leg
The second leg, held on 29 November at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, had a crowd of 85,022. With Australia holding a 1–0 lead at half-time and scoring a second goal just after the break, it looked likely that they would progress to the World Cup. Immediately following Australia's second goal, spectator Peter Hore, known for disrupting major events, ran onto the field and cut up Iran's goal net, causing a halt in play. However, Australia's dominance continued until a controversial booking of Harry Kewell following a collision with Iranian goalkeeper Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh in the 72nd minute. This seemed to quell the Australians' momentum, as an Iranian revival, led by Khodadad Azizi, saw Iran score two quick goals to make the score 3–3 on aggregate, with Iran progressing on away goals.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off), Play-off match, Second leg
Despite being undefeated throughout their entire qualifying campaign, Australia had again failed to qualify for the World Cup finals. Along with host nation and eventual winner France (who as host nation did not need to qualify), and Saint Kitts and Nevis, Australia were one of three teams to not lose a game in the entire campaign. The broadcast of the game on SBS featured closing comments from a clearly distraught Les Murray and Johnny Warren, with Warren openly weeping on air. In 2000, coach Terry Venables said the game was "one of the saddest sporting moments of my life."


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
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.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
A total of 38 CAF teams entered the competition. However, Mali and Niger both withdrew before the draw was made. The African Zone was allocated five places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round, Second Leg
Burundi won 2–0 on aggregate but withdrew before the Final Round started, so their place was given to Sierra Leone.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Final round, Group 3
In May 1997, Zaire were renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo DR).


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Final round, Group 5
Gabon vs Sierra Leone was not played, since neither team could advance with a win.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Final round, Group 5
Match abandoned after 53 minutes due to crowd trouble. FIFA allowed the result to stand


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Final round, Group 5
Match postponed due to Sierra Leone not being able to travel from Freetown due to conflict. The match was never rearranged due to the result having no effect on final group standings


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, CONCACAF zone ran from March 1996 to November 1997 in order to determine the three CONCACAF representatives at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
A total of 30 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Mexico, the USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada, the six highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the third round directly. The remaining 24 teams were divided into two zones, based on geographical locations, as follows:


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
In the third round, the 12 teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. They played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners and runners-up would advance to the final round.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
In the final round, the six teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top three teams would qualify.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Preliminary round, Group C
The Bahamas withdrew, so Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the first round automatically.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round, Group 8
Bermuda withdrew, so Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the second round automatically.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Caribbean Zone, Group A
This match was played on neutral ground instead of in Cuba.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Caribbean Zone, Group D
Saint Kitts and Nevis 2-2 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on aggregate. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won on the away goals rule.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round, Group 1
The United States and Costa Rica advanced to the final round. Guatemala played their home games in Los Angeles and San Salvador instead of at home due to FIFA stadium standards not followed by the Estadio Mateo Flores, in Guatemala City, where over 80 people died due to structural flaws and overcrowding in October 16, 1996, when the home match against Costa Rica was due to be played.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Qualified teams
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Brazil, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition between 9 teams.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
This was the first World Cup qualifying competition to involve all of the yet-unqualified teams in the confederation playing against each other home and away to decide places in the tournament, a format that was replicated for subsequent World Cup qualifying competitions between CONMEBOL members.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone (OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
A total of 10 teams entered the competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round, Melanesian Group
Papua New Guinea advanced to the Second Round. Solomon Islands advanced to the First Round Play-off.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round, Play-off
Solomon Islands advanced to the Second Round by the aggregate score of 13–0.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Final round
Australia advanced to the AFC / OFC Intercontinental Play-off by the aggregate score of 5–0.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA).


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition; Andorra, which joined FIFA and UEFA in November 1996 while the qualifiers were underway, could not enter. The European zone was allocated 15 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. France, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition between 49 teams.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The 49 teams were divided into nine groups, four groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The runners-up would be ranked according to their records against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups, and the team with the best record would also qualify. The other runners-up would advance to the UEFA Play-offs.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
In the play-offs, the 8 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would qualify.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round
First round was group play. The draw was made on 12 December 1995, and was based on the November 1995 FIFA World Rankings.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
The teams were divided into five pools as shown in table below (November 1995 rankings shown in brackets). Teams in bold eventually qualified for the final tournament, teams in bold italic qualified for the final tournament through the play-offs, and teams in italic participated in the play-offs but did not qualify for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Ranking of second-placed teams
Record against the 1st, 3rd and 4th-placed team in their groups.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualified teams
The following 15 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
The AFC First Round of 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was contested between 36 AFC members.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
The top country in each group at the end of the stage progressed to the final round, where the ten remaining teams will be divided into two groups of five.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round
The fourth and final round (also known as Hexagonal or Hex) of CONCACAF's process of 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification was played throughout 1997, from 2 March to 16 November. It was the first Hexagonal final round in CONCACAF's history.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round
Mexico, the United States, and Jamaica qualified to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Canada were eliminated.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round, Format
A total of six teams which had advanced from the third round (the three group winners and the three group runners-up) played against each other in a double round-robin format in a single group. The top three teams in the group qualified to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. This round, known as Hexagonal, is the first used by CONCACAF to determine its qualified teams to a FIFA World Cup and has been used since then.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round, Goalscorers
There were 68 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 2.27 goals per match.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Third Round
This page provides the summaries of the OFC Third Round matches for 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Third Round, Format
In this round the two winning teams from the Second Round were drawn into two home-and-away ties.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Third Round, Matches
Australia won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the AFC–OFC play-off.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
Group 1 consisted of five teams entered into the European zone: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
Group 2 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: England, Georgia, Italy, Moldova, and Poland. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
Group 3 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Azerbaijan, Finland, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
Group 4 consisted of six of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Austria, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Scotland and Sweden. These six teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4, Standings, Results
This game was a replay of the original game that took place in Tallinn on 9 October where the Estonian team failed to show up.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
Group 5 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Israel, Luxembourg, and Russia. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
Group 6 consisted of six of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Malta, Slovakia, Spain, and Yugoslavia. These six teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
Group 7 consisted of five of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Belgium, Netherlands, San Marino, Turkey, and Wales. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
Group 8 consisted of six of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Republic of Ireland, and Romania. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9
Group 9 consisted of six of the 50 teams entered into the European zone: Albania, Armenia, Germany, Northern Ireland, Portugal, and Ukraine. These six teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 15 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The 1998 FIFA World Cup European Qualification Playoffs were a set of home-and-away playoffs to decide the final four places granted to national football teams from European nations (more precisely, UEFA members) for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
By the rules of the UEFA qualifying tournament, the first-place finishers in each of the nine groups received automatic berths, along with the best second-place team that had earned the most points against the top four teams in their individual group.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The eight remaining second-place teams were competed in this round:


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
Belgium Croatia Hungary Italy Republic of Ireland FR Yugoslavia Ukraine Russia


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
An open draw was held on 13 October 1997 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich.


1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The playoffs were decided by the standard FIFA method of aggregate score, with away goals and, if necessary, extra time with the possibility of a penalty shootout at the end of the second leg. The winner of each playoff was awarded a place in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding
Asu the 1998 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the three previous World Cups.


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding
For the ranking part, points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 1998 FIFA World Cup in each of the three fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking.


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding
For the World Cup performance part, points were allocated as follows:


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding
The seedings table uses these points obtained from the 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 FIFA World Cup averaged in a 1:2:3 ratio respectively, added to the average number of points derived from the World Rankings at three given dates (at ratio 1:1:1), December 1995, December 1996, and November 1997. All totals are rounded.


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding
France were seeded as hosts, Brazil as defending champions. The other seeds were: Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Romania, and the Netherlands.


1998 FIFA World Cup seeding, Broadcasting, France
The 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding are broadcast live on TF1, France Television and Canal+


1998 FIFA World Cup squads
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the senior men's teams of the national associations affiliated to FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football). The tournament was played in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998 and featured 32 teams divided into eight groups of four. Each team was required to submit a squad of 22 players – numbered sequentially from 1 to 22 – from whom they would select their teams for each match at the tournament, with the final squads to be submitted by 1 June 1998. In total, 704 players were selected for the tournament.


1998 FIFA World Cup squads
It featured players born in four different decades, the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s. The only other times this has happened at a World Cup was in the 1958, 1970 and 1990 editions.


1998 FIFA World Cup squads
Players' ages as of 10 June 1998, the tournament's opening day.


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Group C, Saudi Arabia
Head coach:  Carlos Alberto Parreira (fired after two matches, replaced by Mohammed Al-Kharashy for the final match)


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Group E, South Korea
Head coach:  Cha Bum-kun (fired after two matches, replaced by  Kim Pyung-seok for the final match)


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Group F, Germany
Note: Kirsten and Marschall also earned additional caps for East Germany (49 and 4, respectively).


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Group G, Tunisia
Head coach:  Henryk Kasperczak (fired after two matches, replaced by Ali Selmi for the final match)


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Player representation by league
The English, Spanish, Japanese and Saudi Arabian squads were made up entirely of players from the respective countries' domestic leagues. The Nigeria squad was made up entirely of players employed by foreign clubs. Only three teams, Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, had no players from European clubs.


1998 FIFA World Cup squads, Player representation by league
Although Turkey and Portugal failed to qualify for the finals, their domestic leagues were represented by 18 and 9 players, respectively. Altogether, there were 38 national leagues who had players in the tournament.


1998 FIFA World Player of the Year
The 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year award was won by Zinedine Zidane, after scoring twice in France's 3–0 win over Brazil in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final.


1998 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final
The 1998 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final was held in Sabae, Japan in 1998. This edition marked the first time the World Cup Final was held. In 1997, the World Cup was revived, after a 7-year hiatus, as a series of qualifying events for a period of two years, culminating in a final event, the World Cup Final. The different stages, sometimes referred to as World Cup Qualifiers, mostly served the purpose of awarding points to individual gymnasts and groups according to their placements. These points would be added up over the two-year period to qualify a limited number of athletes to the biennial World Cup Final event.


1998 FIRS Intercontinental Cup
The 1998 FIRS Intercontinental Cup was the seventh edition of the roller hockey tournament known as the Intercontinental Cup, played in May 1998. This edition was disputed, for the first time, over one game only. FC Barcelona won the cup, defeating Unión Vecinal de Trinidad.


1998 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
The 1998 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix was the 5th Summer Grand Prix season in ski jumping on plastic. Season began on the 9 August 1998 in Stams, Austria and ended on 13 September 1998 in Hakuba, Japan.


1998 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
Other competitive circuits this season included the World Cup and Continental Cup.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship
The 1998 FIVB Men's World Championship was the fourteenth edition of the tournament, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB. It was held from 13 to 29 November 1998 in Fukuoka, Kobe, Sendai, Sapporo, Kawasaki, Uozu, Hiroshima, Osaka, Chiba, Hamamatsu, and Tokyo, Japan.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification
The 1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification was a qualification event, played in 1997 and 1998, for the thirteenth edition of Men's World Championship, which was held in Japan. The event was split into several groups divided by continent.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification, Confederation qualification processes
The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship was:


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification, Africa
8 national teams originally entered qualification but Malawi, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire withdrew, Cameroon was later added to Pool B.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification, Asia and Oceania
12 national teams entered qualification but Bahrain and Philippines withdrew. Top two teams from Pool C and D and Pool E winner qualified to the World Championship.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification, Europe
28 national teams entered qualification. The teams were distributed according to their position in the FIVB Senior Men's Rankings. Teams ranked 1–15 automatically qualified for the second round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship squads
This article shows the rosters of all participating teams at the 1998 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Japan.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship
The 1998 FIVB Women's World Championship was the thirteenth edition of the tournament, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB. It was held from 3 to 12 November 1998 in Tokyo, Tokuyama, Matsumoto, Kagoshima, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Osaka, Japan.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Format
The tournament was played in three different stages (first, second and final rounds). In the First round, the 16 participants were divided in four groups of four teams each. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams' group position, the three best teams of each group (total of 12 teams) progressed to the next round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Format
In the Second round, the 12 teams were divided into two groups of six teams. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams' group position, matches already played between teams in the First round were counted in this round. The four best teams of each group (total of 8 teams) progressed to the next round (group winners and runners-up to 1st–4th place semifinals and group thirds and fourths to 5th–8th place semifinals).


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Format
The Final round was played in a single elimination format and consisted of two sets of semifinals and finals (one to determine 1st–4th places and the other for 5th–8th places).


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Format
For the tournament's final standings, teams which did not reach placement matches were allocated as:


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Pools composition
The drawing of lots took place on 20 April 1998 in Tokyo, Japan. Teams were seeded in the first two positions of each pool following the Serpentine system according to their FIVB World Ranking. FIVB reserved the right to seed the hosts as head of Pool A regardless of the World Ranking. All teams not seeded were drawn to take other available positions in the remaining lines. The number after the team's name reflect its FIVB World Ranking in October 1998.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, Results, Second round
The results and the points of the matches between the same teams that were already played during the first round are taken into account for the second round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification
The 1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification was a qualification event, played in 1997 and 1998, for the thirteenth edition of FIVB Women's World Championship, which was held in Japan from November 3 to November 12, 1998. The event was split into several groups divided by continent.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification, Confederation qualification processes
The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship was:


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification, Africa
6 national teams entered qualification. (Malawi later withdrew) The teams were distributed according to their position in the FIVB Senior Women's Rankings. Teams ranked 1–2 automatically qualified for the second round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification, Asia and Oceania
9 national teams entered qualification. The teams were distributed according to their position in the FIVB Senior Women's Rankings. Teams ranked 1–7 automatically qualified for the second round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification, Europe
23 national teams entered qualification. The teams were distributed according to their position in the FIVB Senior Women's Rankings. Teams ranked 1–17 automatically qualified for the second round.


1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 1998 FIVB Women's World Championship, held from November 3 to November 12, 1998.


1998 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
The 1998 FIVB World Grand Prix was the sixth women's volleyball tournament of its kind, played by eight countries from 21 August to 13 September 1998. The final round was staged in Hong Kong.


1998 FIVB Volleyball World League
The 1998 FIVB Volleyball World League was the ninth edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 12 countries from 15 May to 19 July 1998. The Final Round was held in Milan, Italy.


1998 Faber Grand Prix
The 1998 Faber Grand Prix was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Hannover, in Germany that was part of Tier II of the 1998 WTA Tour. The tournament was held from 16 February until 22 February 1998. Unseeded Patty Schnyder won the singles title and earned $79,000 first-prize money.


1998 Faber Grand Prix, Finals, Doubles
Lisa Raymond /  Rennae Stubbs defeated  Elena Likhovtseva /  Caroline Vis 6–1, 6–7, 6–3


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Doubles
Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf were the defending champions but only Bollegraf competed that year with Jana Novotná.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Doubles
Bollegraf and Novotná lost in the semifinals to Elena Likhovtseva and Caroline Vis.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Doubles
Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs won in the final 6–1, 6–7, 6–3 against Likhovtseva and Vis.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Singles
Iva Majoli was the defending champion but lost in the second round to Patty Schnyder.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Singles
Schnyder won in the final 6–0, 2–6, 7–5 against Jana Novotná.


1998 Faber Grand Prix – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. The top four seeds received a bye to the second round.


1998 Family Circle Cup
The 1998 Family Circle Cup was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in the United States that was part of Tier I of the 1998 WTA Tour. It was the 28th edition of the tournament and was held from March 30 through April 5, 1998.


1998 Family Circle Cup, Finals, Doubles
Conchita Martínez /  Patricia Tarabini defeated  Lisa Raymond /  Rennae Stubbs 3–6, 6–4, 6–4


1998 Family Circle Cup – Doubles
Mary Joe Fernández and Martina Hingis were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


1998 Family Circle Cup – Doubles
Conchita Martínez and Patricia Tarabini won in the final 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 against Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs.


1998 Family Circle Cup – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated. The top four seeded teams received byes into the second round.


1998 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Martina Hingis was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


1998 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Amanda Coetzer won in the final 6–3, 6–4 against Irina Spîrlea.


1998 Family Circle Cup – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. The top eight seeds received a bye to the second round.


1998 Fareham Borough Council election
The 1998 Fareham Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.


1998 Faroese general election
General elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 30 April 1998.