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
African nations at the FIFA World Cup against Turkey, they were eliminated by a golden goal four minutes into extra time. In Group B, South Africa drew 2–2 with Paraguay with an injury time penalty, then scored their first ever World Cup win by beating Slovenia 1–0. However a 2–3 loss to Spain then sent South Africa home. In Group E, Cameroon drew 1–1 with Republic of Ireland, beat Saudi Arabia 1–0, and then lost 0–2 to Germany. In Group F, Nigeria lost 0–1 to Argentina, lost 1–2 to Sweden, and having been eliminated, held England to a 0–0 draw. In Group H, Tunisia lost 0–2 to