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
Cameroon at the FIFA World Cup qualification group. Head coach: Jean Vincent Grégoire M'Bida scored the first ever goal for Cameroon in the World Cup Finals when he hooked the ball home with his right foot past the advancing goalkeeper from inside the six yard box after the ball had been headed on to him from a high ball inside the penalty area. The goal came one minute after Italy had taken the lead in the game after missing several chances to score in the first half. Head coach: Valery Nepomnyashchy Omam-Biyik scored with a downward header from six yards out the after the ball had