France 1998: Les Bleus' Finest Hour — and the Mystery That Still Surrounds the Final
Zinedine Zidane headed France to their first world title. But the story of the 1998 final will always be overshadowed by a mystery that has never been fully explained — what happened to Ronaldo on the morning of the match?
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was held in France from 10 June to 12 July — the first edition to feature 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four, with the top two in each advancing to the knockout rounds.
The tournament produced its share of memorable moments throughout. Argentina and England served up a gripping round of 16 classic that ended 2-2 before going to penalties. Netherlands eliminated both Yugoslavia — with a late Edgar Davids goal settling a match in which Real Madrid's Predrag Mijatović missed a penalty — and Argentina in the quarter-finals, the latter tie producing what was voted the tournament's most beautiful goal: Dennis Bergkamp controlling a long ball on the edge of the area and finishing with devastating precision in the 89th minute. Croatia announced themselves on the world stage with a stunning 3-0 demolition of Germany in the quarter-finals, while Brazil and Denmark produced a pulsating 3-2 encounter in the same round.
The semi-finals raised the stakes further. Brazil edged past Netherlands on penalties in Marseille, while France needed every ounce of resolve to see off Croatia 2-1 in Paris — the two goals coming from an unlikely source: defender Lilian Thuram, who had never scored for his country before and has never scored since.
The final at the Stade de France began with a mystery that has never been resolved. Ronaldo — Brazil's star and the most feared striker in the world — was initially left out of the starting lineup by coach Mário Zagallo, before a revised team sheet appeared shortly before kick-off with his name restored. It later emerged that Ronaldo had suffered a mysterious collapse in his hotel room that morning. What exactly happened has never been officially explained.
On the pitch, a visibly diminished Ronaldo could barely influence the match, and none of his teammates found the authority to fill the void. France were magnificent. Zidane headed in two first-half corners, and Emmanuel Petit added a third in stoppage time. The 3-0 scoreline was, if anything, flattering to Brazil. France were world champions for the first time — and in front of their own people.
Top scorer: Davor Šuker (Croatia) — 6 goals
Champions squad: Barthez, Lizarazu, Djorkaeff, Deschamps, Desailly, Guivarc'h, Zidane, Thuram, Petit, Lebœuf, Karembeu, Lama, Charbonnier, Candela, Vieira, Blanc, Pirès, Henry, Diomède, Boghossian, Trezeguet, Dugarry
Coach: Aimé Jacquet
Highest-scoring match: Spain v Bulgaria 6-1
Total goals scored: 171 | Average per match: 2.67
Best-attended match: 80,000 — Brazil v France (final) | Average attendance: 43,517