The Stade de France (pictured in 2016) held the final
Event
1998 FIFA World Cup
Brazil
France
0
3
Date
12 July 1998
Venue
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Man of the Match
Zinedine Zidane (France)
Referee
Said Belqola (Morocco)
Attendance
75,000
Weather
Fair 23 °C (73 °F), 50% humidity
← 1994
2002 →
The 1998 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th edition of the quadrennial football competition organised by FIFA for the men's national teams of its member associations. The match was played at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 12 July 1998, and was contested by Brazil and France. The tournament featured France as the hosts, Brazil as the winners of the previous World Cup and 30 other teams who emerged from the qualification tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Brazil finished first in Group A, with two wins and one defeat, after which they beat Chile in the round of 16, Denmark in the quarter-finals and the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals. France finished top of Group C with three wins, before defeating Paraguay in the round of 16, Italy in the quarter-final, and Croatia in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 75,000 supporters, with an estimated 1.3 billion watching on television, and was refereed by Said Belqola from Morocco.
Before the match, speculation surrounded the fitness of striker Ronaldo, who was initially left out of Brazil's starting line-up, only to be restored to the team before kick-off. France took the lead shortly before the half-hour mark, when Zinedine Zidane outjumped Leonardo to connect with a header from an in-swinging corner from the right taken by Emmanuel Petit. Zidane scored again, with another header from a corner, shortly before half-time to give France a 2–0 lead. Petit then added a third goal in second-half injury time, striking the ball low into the net following a pass by Patrick Vieira, to complete a 3–0 win for France.
France's win was their first World Cup title, as they became the seventh different nation to win the tournament. Zidane was named the man of the match, while Ronaldo was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament. Following the win, hundreds of thousands of French supporters celebrated in Paris throughout the night, before assembling along the Champs-Élysées the following day for an open-top bus tour by the French players. France followed up their victory by winning their next major tournament at UEFA Euro 2000. Ronaldo's fitness for the match and his initial omission and later reinstatement on Brazil's teamsheet became a subject of ongoing journalistic interest following the match, with analysis continuing more than 20 years later.
and 28 Related for: 1998 FIFA World Cup final information
The FIFAWorldCup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the Fédération Internationale de...
The 1990 FIFAWorldCupfinal was a football match played between West Germany and Argentina to determine the winner of the 1990 FIFAWorldCup. The game...
installment of the FIFAWorldCup. Brazil reached the final where they were defeated 3–0 by France. Head coach: Mário Zagallo 10 June 1998 17:30 Stade de...
FIFAWorldCupfinal took place in Råsunda Stadium, Solna (near Stockholm), Sweden, on 29 June 1958 to determine the champion of the 1958 FIFAWorld Cup...
FIFAWorldCupfinal was the final match of the 1974 FIFAWorldCup held in Munich, Germany (formerly West Germany). It was the 10th FIFAWorldCup competition...
The 1994 FIFAWorldCupfinal was a soccer game that took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, United States, on July 17, 1994, to determine...
The 2026 FIFAWorldCup, marketed as FIFAWorldCup 26, will be the 23rd FIFAWorldCup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested...
The 1998FIFAWorldCup knockout stage covers the games from the second round through to the final at the 1998FIFAWorldCup in France. The top two teams...
The 1998FIFAWorldCup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia)...
performance of Brazil at the FIFAWorldCup, including the qualification phase and the final phase, officially called the WorldCupfinals. The qualification phase...
Eighteen countries have been FIFAWorldCup hosts in the competition's twenty-two tournaments since the inaugural WorldCup in 1930. The organization at...
The 1962 FIFAWorldCupfinal was the deciding match of the 1962 FIFAWorldCup. The match was held at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, and was contested...
At the 2002 FIFAWorldCup, Brazil participated for the 17th time in the event. The country remained as the only national team to have participated in...
the men's FIFAWorldCup tournament since its inception in 1930. Participating teams have to register squads for each edition of the WorldCup, which consisted...
The 2026 FIFAWorldCup qualification will decide the teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States at the 2026 FIFAWorldCup. Qualification...
2014 FIFA Club WorldCupfinal was the final match of the 2014 FIFA Club WorldCup, a football tournament hosted by Morocco. It was the 11th final of the...
Global Information
