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 in the third game, where they lost 2–0. German goals were scored from Oliver Bierhoff and Jürgen Klinsmann. The one win and two defeats left Iran third in the final group standings, not enough for progression to the next round. South Korea entered the 1998 World Cup without a single win to their name despite 14 World Cup games' experience. South Korea played Mexico, the Netherlands and Belgium. In the first game, South Korea lead in the 27th minute thanks to a Ha Seok-ju free-kick that was deflected into the Mexican goal. A couple of minutes after the goal was