Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup in France by qualifying in second place in South America, behind Argentina. The first round matches were against Bulgaria (0–0), Spain (0–0), and Nigeria (3–1; goals Celso Ayala, Miguel Ángel Benítez and José Cardozo). Paraguay qualified to the second round (Round of 16) to be defeated in a thrilling match against hosts and eventual World Champions France. France only scored through Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, during the second half of overtime (making it the first golden goal scored in a World Cup). Paraguay's central defending duo (Carlos Gamarra and Celso Ayala) and goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert were selected
Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup At the 1998 FIFA World Cup Croatia participated in the event for the first time. The country went on to finish third. Croatia was drawn in Group A of UEFA's World Cup qualifications along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia. Croatia finished second, behind Denmark, and qualified for the World Cup. The team had the following results: The final standings were the following: Team captain Zvonimir Boban is the only players that appeared in all 10 qualifying matches. Davor Šuker was top scorer with 5 goals. Ardian Kozniku, Petar Krpan, Anthony