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
1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup this time. Jamaica, getting ready for the 1998 World Cup, pulled the stunner of the first round. They did not originally qualify for the tournament, but Canada withdrew, granting them a spot. Jamaica then topped Group A over Brazil (they tied the South Americans 0–0). In the semi-finals, the United States beat Brazil, as Preki scored the lone goal and Kasey Keller preserved the clean sheet. The United States could not repeat that performance in front of a pro-Mexican final crowd in Los Angeles. Mexico won their third straight Gold Cup, 1–0, on a Luis Hernández goal. (1) Canada withdrew