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
Russia at the FIFA World Cup have won a Golden Boot award each. Salenko is the only player who has ever scored five goals in a single World Cup match, and the only player to win the Golden Boot even though his team has been eliminated in the Group stage. Russia at the FIFA World Cup Russia has participated in 4 FIFA World Cups since its independence in December 1991. The Russian Federation played their first international match against Mexico on 16 August 1992 winning 2-0. Their first participation in a World Cup was the United States of America in 1994 and they achieved 18th place.