1998 FIFA World Cup

• 1. Host Selection And Bidding

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  France won the right to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup on the 2nd of July 1992. The decision was made by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. France defeated Morocco with twelve votes against seven. Switzerland withdrew from the bidding process because it could not meet FIFA's requirements. This victory made France the third country to host two World Cups after Mexico and Italy. England had originally applied but later withdrew to focus on hosting UEFA Euro 1996.

  Decades later, corruption allegations emerged regarding this selection. On the 4th of June 2015, Chuck Blazer confirmed that he and other members of FIFA's executive committee accepted bribes during the 1998 and 2010 World Cup host selections. Blazer stated that they facilitated bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. It eventually transpired that the bribe payment came from the failed Moroccan bid rather than the French bid committee.

• 2. Qualification And Team Expansion

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  The qualification draw took place at the Musée du Louvre in Paris on the 12th of December 1995. One hundred seventy-four teams from six confederations participated in the qualifying rounds. This marked an increase of twenty-four teams compared to the previous round. Fourteen countries qualified from the European zone alone. The last team to qualify was Iran by beating Australia in a two-legged tie on the 29th of November 1997.

  Four nations made their first appearances in the tournament: Croatia, Jamaica, Japan, and South Africa. Chile qualified for the first time since 1982 after serving a ban. Nigeria held the lowest ranking among all qualified teams at number 74. Austria, England, Scotland, and Yugoslavia returned after missing out on the 1994 tournament. The Balkan team appeared under the name FR Yugoslavia. The final tournament expanded to thirty-two teams across eight groups of four.

• 3. Venues And Infrastructure

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  Construction on the Stade de France began in December 1995 and finished after twenty-six months of work in November 1997. The stadium cost 2.67 billion francs to build. It holds eighty thousand seats and served as the venue for both the opening match and the final. Mayor Jacques Chirac negotiated with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to place the stadium in Saint-Denis just north of Paris. Ten stadiums were used for the finals across ten host cities.

  Montpellier was a surprise inclusion because its local authorities had invested heavily in football over the previous two decades. The Stade Vélodrome in Marseille hosted seven matches while Lyon hosted six total matches. Six matches took place in Paris Saint-Germain's Parc des Princes bringing Paris's total to fifteen matches. Some venues like the Stade Municipal in Toulouse and the Parc Lescure in Bordeaux had also hosted World Cup matches in 1938.

• 4. Tournament Format Innovations

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  This was the first FIFA World Cup where fourth officials used electronic boards instead of cardboard. The golden goal rule was introduced for extra time scenarios. Tackles from behind that endangered an opponent were banned during play. Teams were allowed three substitutions per game rather than fewer. Thirty-four referees and thirty-three assistants officiated the tournament matches.

  The draw event took place at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on the 4th of December 1997. Three hundred eighty thousand spectators attended the live broadcast which reached an estimated one billion TV viewers. Michel Platini admitted in 2018 that the group stage draw had been fixed so France and Brazil would not meet until the final if both teams finished top of their groups. The committee approved assigning host nation France to group position C1 and defending champions Brazil to group position A1 before the draw occurred.

• 5. Group Stage Dynamics

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  Norway overturned a one-zero deficit with seven minutes remaining to defeat Brazil two-one in Group A. Kjetil Rekdal scored the winning penalty to send Norway into the knockout stage for the first time. This victory denied Morocco a chance at the Round of 16 despite winning three-zero against Scotland. Scotland managed only one point coming in a one-one draw against Norway and failed to get out of the first round for an eighth time.

  Nigeria and Paraguay advanced to the Round of 16 after eliminating top seed Spain from Group D. Bulgaria failed to repeat their surprise performance from the previous tournament. Romania topped Group G over England while Colombia and Tunisia were unable to reach the last sixteen. Argentina finished at the top of Group H against three debutants including Croatia who took the runners-up spot. Jamaica and Japan failed to advance from their respective groups.

• 6. Knockout Stage And Final

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  The final was held on the 12th of July 1998 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. France defeated holders Brazil three-zero with two goals from Zinedine Zidane and a stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit. The win gave France their first World Cup title. They became the sixth national team to win the tournament on home soil after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany, and Argentina. Marcel Desailly was sent off in the sixty-eighth minute as France went down to ten men.

  Brazil reacted by making an attacking substitution but France sealed the win when substitute Patrick Vieira set up his club teammate Petit. A counterattack allowed Petit to shoot low past goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel. French president Jacques Chirac attended to congratulate the winners. Winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team several days after the victory. Davor Šuker scored six goals to receive the Golden Boot award for the tournament.

• 7. Marketing And Cultural Impact

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  Footix served as the official mascot of the tournament. It was a rooster presented in May 1996 created by graphic designer Fabrice Pialot. Research showed that ninety-one percent of people associated the cockerel immediately with France. The name Footix is a portmanteau of football and the ending -ix from the popular Astérix comic strip. The match ball named Tricolore was manufactured by Adidas and featured three colors inspired by the tricolour flag and cockerel.

  The official song recorded by Ricky Martin was called The Cup of Life or La Copa de la Vida. EA Sports released World Cup 98 on the 13th of March 1998 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. Konami produced two distinct video games in Japan including Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France 98. The matches were broadcast in two hundred countries with eight hundred eighteen photographers credited for the event. One thousand seven hundred fifty reporters and one hundred ten TV commentators were present in the press stand during the final.