History of the FIFA World Cup as earning the Bronze Ball award. He led Bulgaria to a shock 2-1 win over defending champions Germany in the quarter-finals, before losing 2–1 to Italy and losing the third place play-off to Sweden, 4–0. The 1998 World Cup was held in France, and had an expanded format featuring 32 teams. Iran beat the Maldives in qualification by the widest margin in World Cup history – 17–0. In the finals, the second round match between France and Paraguay witnessed the first golden goal in World Cup history, as Laurent Blanc scored to give the hosts a 1–0 victory. Hosts France
Colombia at the FIFA World Cup kick-off, Teofilo Gutierrez scored the second goal from a corner shot, James Rodriguez made their final score during the three minutes overtime. Colombia went on to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 and Japan 4-1. For the first time in history, Colombia won their group in group stages at the Fifa World Cup. They defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the Round of 16, marking the deepest run in the World Cup ever for the Colombian national team. They met Brazil in the quarter-finals and were narrowly defeated 2-1, bringing to an end their most successful World Cup campaign to date. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia,