1998 FA Cup Final at Old Trafford, Shearer scored the winner against Sheffield United. Arsenal were appearing in the final of the FA Cup for the first time since 1993. They had won the cup on six separate occasions (in 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979 and 1993) and lost the showpiece final by the same amount. Newcastle in contrast were making their first Cup final appearance in 24 years. The club had won six FA Cups, and came runners-up five times, most recently against Liverpool in 1974. The 1998 final marked the third meeting between Arsenal and Newcastle United in Cup final history. Newcastle
1998 FIFA World Cup Group F against both the United States and Iran put them top on goal difference. 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. 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