THE ROAD TO RUSSIA: 1998
France staged the 16th edition of the World Cup from June 10 to July 12.
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. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the Stade de France, Saint- Denis. ■ The tournament was won by the hosts, who beat defending champions Brazil 3- 0 in the final. It was 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 tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals. ■ The 64 matches were watched by a total television audience estimated at 36 billion, an average of more than 550 million per game. The final alone attracted two billion viewers, roughly a third of the planet. ■ Aime Jacquet’s France gathered unstoppable momentum as the tournament progressed before defeating Brazil 3- 0 in a onesided final at the gleaming 80,000- seat Stade de France.
The star was Zinedine Zidane, who bounced back from the shame of a red card against Saudi Arabia early in the competition to score two goals in the final. Brazil’s campaign ended in mysterious circumstances, with Ronaldo excluded from the team- sheet for the final before being cleared to play.
It later emerged the player had had a fit in his hotel room a few hours before the final, leading many to question why he had been allowed on the field. ■ Croatia beat Holland 2- 1 to take third place. ■ In all, 171 goals were scored by 112 different players in the 64 matches at an average of 2.67 goals per match. Croatia’s Davor Suker took the Golden Boot for his six goals. There were six self goals in this tournament.