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
1998 FIFA World Cup Group G 1998 FIFA World Cup Group G At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. The four teams in Group G were England, Romania, Colombia and Tunisia. With wins in their first two games against Colombia and England, followed by a draw against Tunisia, Romania won the group and qualified for the round of 16. England and Colombia were level on points before they played each other in their final match, each having defeated Tunisia and lost to Romania. England, with a better goal difference, only required a draw to advance.