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
Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup of the penalty area. In the second match, against Croatia, a late Davor Šuker goal ensured a 1–0 Croatia victory and his nation's progression to the next round, simultaneously eliminating Japan from the tournament. Japan's World Cup campaign officially ended with an unexpected 2–1 defeat to rank outsiders Jamaica. Two goals from Theodore Whitmore gave Jamaica their first ever win in the World Cup finals, although Masashi Nakayama had the honour of scoring Japan's first-ever goal at the World Cup finals, which came in the 74th minute. Iran's first game of Group F was played against Yugoslavia, a 1–0 loss