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
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