1998 FIFA World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup
Coupe du Monde – France 98 (French)
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates10 June – 12 July
Teams32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Final positions
Champions France (1st title)
Runners-up Brazil
Third place Croatia
Fourth place Netherlands
Tournament statistics
Matches played64
Goals scored171 (2.67 per match)
Attendance2,785,100 (43,517 per match)
Top scorer(s)Croatia Davor Šuker (6 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Ronaldo
Best young playerEngland Michael Owen
Best goalkeeperFrance Fabien Barthez
Fair play award England
 France
1994
2002

The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament (the first was in 1938), defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32 days, it was the longest World Cup tournament ever held.

Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997. For the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums in 10 host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the newly built Stade de France in the Parisian commune of Saint-Denis.

The tournament was won by host country France, who beat defending champions Brazil 3–0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the World Cup on home soil. As of 2024, they are the most recent team to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals.


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