XVI WORLD CUP ( FRANCE 1998)

FINAL STAGE — GAME DETAILS

(From 10-06-1998 to 12-07-1998)

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 10-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 80.000 REFEREE: José María García-Aranda (SPA) GOALS: 1-0 (César Sampaio 4’); 1-1 (Collins [p.] 38’); 2-1 (Boyd [o.g.] 73’) [Incidents: Opening game of the World Cup, preceded by an inaugural ceremony.]
		Brazil - Scotland
		2-1 (1-1)
BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Júnior Baiano, Aldair, Roberto Carlos Giovanni (Leonardo 46’), César Sampaio, Dunga (c), Rivaldo Bebeto (Denílson 70’), Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo			SCOTLAND Leighton Calderwood, Hendry (c), Boyd, Dailly (T. McKinlay 85’) Burley, Jackson (B. McKinlay 79’), Lambert, Collins Gallacher, Durie COACH: Craig Brown
GAME SUMMARY Scotland might have feared the worst in the World Cup opening game against Brazil, and it was upon them almost immediately, when Bebeto’s corner from the left reached César Sampaio in the near post and the Brazilian midfielder put the ball in with his shoulder. It was the fastest goal in the opening game of a World Cup. But the Scots overcame this start and survived the Brazilian attacks (Leighton made a smart save from Ronaldo). The veteran Durie was rugged and limited, but made some confident runs and could have done with more support from Gallacher and Collins, though Lambert looked a competent all-round midfielder. As the Scots regrouped, they were given a controversial penalty when César Sampaio blocked Gallacher off the ball, and Collins equalized from the spot before the break. In the second half, Scotland were very much a match for Brazil. The 20-year-old Denílson (who was in the process of breaking the world transfer record with Real Betis) showed some skillful glimpses when he came on, but Brazil made no really good chances and Scotland would have been well worth a draw. However, the classic bad luck of the underdogs came into play when Cafu made another of his runs on the right and Leighton blocked his flipped volley, but the ball went in off Boyd’s upper arm.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 10-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 28.750 REFEREE: Pirom Un-Prasert (THA) GOALS: 1-0 (Hadji 38’); 1-1 (Chippo [o.g.] 45+’); 2-1 (Hadda 59’); 2-2 (Eggen 60’)
		Morocco - Norway
		2-2 (1-1)
MOROCCO Benzekri Saber, Rossi, Naybet (c), El-Hadrioui Hadji, Chiba, El-Khalej (Azzouzi 90+’), Chippo (Amzine 78’) Bassir, Hadda (El-Khattabi 87’) COACH: Henri Michel			NORWAY Grodås (c) Berg, Eggen, Johnsen, Bjørnebye Leonhardsen, Rekdal, Mykland H. Flo (Solbakken 72’), T.A. Flo, Solskjær (Riseth 46’) COACH: Egil Olsen
GAME SUMMARY Morocco had raised some eyebrows with their skillful play before the tournament, and they lived up to their reputation with a magnificent opening goal: When El-Khalej’s superb volleyed through-ball found the bearded Hadji wide on the left, he produced a foot-over-the-ball feint to beat Eggen on the inside, then fired in low across the keeper. In injury time of the first half, however, Rekdal took a free kick, Benzekri failed to grab the ball under Berg’s challenge, and Chippo only managed to head it into his own net while trying to glance it away from goal. In the second half, back came Morocco with a goal to match their first, volleyed by Hadda after another beautifully weighted pass from El-Khalej. But within one minute Norway equalized again, after Benzekri fumbled another free kick and Eggen headed in.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 11-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 31.800 REFEREE: Lucien Bouchardeau (NGR) GOALS: 1-0 (Vieri 10’); 1-1 (Salas 45+’); 1-2 (Salas 49’); 2-2 (R. Baggio [p.] 85’)
		Italy - Chile
		2-2 (1-1)
ITALY Pagliuca Di Livio (Chiesa 61’), Nesta, Costacurta, Cannavaro, Maldini (c) D. Baggio, Albertini, Di Matteo (Di Biagio 57’) R. Baggio, Vieri (Inzaghi 71’) COACH: Cesare Maldini			CHILE Tapia Villarroel, Reyes, Fuentes, Margas (Miguel Ramírez 63’), Rojas Acuña (Cornejo 82’), Parraguez, Estay (Sierra 81’) Zamorano (c), Salas COACH: Nelson Acosta
GAME SUMMARY Italy utterly dominated the first half, and it was incredible that they needed a refereeing hand-out near the end to save this match. Cesare Maldini was the second coach to pick his son in a finals match (after Ondino Viera of Uruguay in 1966) and the first to make him captain, and Paolo responded by making the opening goal: After intercepting a pass, he hit a perfect long ball which was touched first time by Roberto Baggio into the path of Vieri, who sidefooted it in. With Nesta and Cannavaro clamping down on the “Za-Sa” strike force of Zamorano and Salas, Chile was out of the match. Then, in injury time, Zamorano headed on Estay’s corner, and a rebound fell kindly for Salas, who lashed it in for the equalizer. Only four minutes into the second half, Salas (current South American Player of the Year) outjumped Cannavaro to head in Acuña’s cross, and suddenly Italy were struggling, their counterattacks held up by a slow Roberto Baggio and the lumbering Vieri. Even so, the former nearly made the equalizer when he got round the back of the last defender and Tapia made a vital save. The Chilean goalkeeper saved again when Roberto Baggio’s sublime little through-ball sent Inzaghi clear. With five minutes left, and just when Italy seemed to have run out of ideas, the referee from Niger came to the rescue and awarded a penalty after an accidental handball by Fuentes. Roberto Baggio, after his famous miss in the 1994 final, equalized from the spot (although Tapia got a hand to the ball).

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 11-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.500 REFEREE: Epifanio González Chávez (PAR) GOALS: 1-0 (N'Janka 78’); 1-1 (Polster 90+’)
		Cameroon - Austria
		1-1 (0-0)
CAMEROON Songo'o Song, Kalla, N'Janka N'Do, Simo (Olembé 65’), M'Boma, Angibeaud, Womé Omam-Biyik (c) (Tchami 84’), Ipoua (Job 65’) COACH: Claude le Roy			AUSTRIA Konsel Schöttel, Feiersinger, Pfeffer Cerny (Stöger 82’), Mählich, Kühbauer, Pfeifenberger (Haas 82’), Wetl Herzog (Vastić 82’), Polster (c) COACH: Herbert Prohaska
GAME SUMMARY Cameroon, after their surprising World Cup in 1990 and their disappointing one in 1994, didn’t show much advance in their play, and they still relied heavily on the physical presence of their players, who didn’t seem to know the difference between a legitimate challenge and a hard tackle. Austria did well to keep their tempers while their players were fouled time and again, but they were a rather pedestrian team, so there seemed to be no way back for them once Cameroon scored a marvellous individual goal near the end: N'Janka ran a long way up the left, swerved past Feiersinger, stepped inside Schöttel (a dummy with each foot) and fired across the keeper. However, in injury time (a very apt term in a match like this) Pfeffer headed on a corner and Polster took his time before crunching the ball in off the bar for the equalizer.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 12-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 27.650 REFEREE: Abdulrahman al-Zeid (KSA) GOALS: - [Incidents: Nankov was sent off (min. 87).]
		Paraguay - Bulgaria
		0-0 (0-0)
PARAGUAY Chilavert (c) Sarabia, Gamarra, Ayala Enciso, Acuña, Morales (Caniza 43’), Paredes, Campos (Yegros 78’) Benítez, Cardozo (Ramírez 70’) COACH: Paulo César Carpeggiani			BULGARIA Zdravkov Nankov, Yordanov, T. Ivanov (c), I. Petkov Iliev (Borimirov 77’), Kishishev, Balăkov, Yankov Penev (Kostadinov 68’), Stoichkov COACH: Khristo Bonev
GAME SUMMARY The game didn’t call for much excitement, as Paraguay arrived on the back of four consecutive defeats and no wins since February, and Bulgaria were only shadows of their 1994 side. However, a match with Stoichkov and Chilavert is always eventful: the Bulgarian attacker, angry at not being awarded an early penalty, squared up to Morales, argued with Ayala after being pushed, argued with teammate Balăkov after getting in the way of a pass, and was booked for fouling Benítez. Somewhere between all that, he hit a post. Chilavert, a very peculiar goalkeeper famous for scoring goals from free kicks, came close here, his shot bringing a very good save out of Zdravkov. Near the end, Nankov was sent off for a second bookable offence after a foul on Yegros.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 12-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 38.140 REFEREE: Javier Alberto Castrilli (ARG) GOALS: 0-1 (Rieper 68’)
		Saudi Arabia - Denmark
		0-1 (0-0)
SAUDI ARABIA Al-Deayea Al-Jahani, Zubromawi, Al-Shahrani, Al-Khilaiwi, Sulaimani Amin (c) (Saleh 78’), Kh. Al-Owairan, S. Al-Owairan (Al-Dosari 79’) Al-Muwallid, Al-Jaber (Al-Thunayan 84’) COACH: Carlos Alberto Parreira			DENMARK Schmeichel Jørgensen (Frandsen 73’), Colding, Rieper, Høgh, Schjønberg Helveg, Wieghorst (Nielsen 65’), M. Laudrup (c) Sand, B. Laudrup (Heintze 84’) COACH: Bo Johansson
GAME SUMMARY Saudi Arabia had already warned their rivals about the difficulty of beating them with a 0-0 draw at Wembley three weeks earlier. Denmark, bigger and stronger, dominated possession without making many chances. Jørgensen and Nielsen should have scored, but the only goal of the game came after Brian Laudrup’s good cross presented the hulking Rieper with a free header in the aftermath of a corner. Saeed al-Owairan, who had scored that brilliant solo goal in 1994 World Cup against Belgium, was totally anonymous, Michael Laudrup not much more visible, and the match in general was error-strewn and dull.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 12-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 55.077 REFEREE: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (BRA) GOALS: 1-0 (Dugarry 34’); 2-0 (Issa [o.g.] 78’); 3-0 (Henry 90+’) [Incidents: Although Henry is officially credited with the last French goal, it was actually an own goal by Issa, who stopped the ball just before the line but knocked it in with his trailing foot.]
		France - South Africa
		3-0 (1-0)
FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu Deschamps (c), Petit (Boghossian 73’), Zidane Henry, Guivarc'h (Dugarry 26’), Djorkaeff (Trézéguet 82’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			SOUTH AFRICA Vonk Jackson, Issa, Fish, Radebe (c), Nyathi Augustine (Mkhalele 56’), Moshoeu, Fortune Masinga, McCarthy (Bartlett 89’) COACH: Philippe Troussier
GAME SUMMARY South Africa had a strong defensive line, with Fish and Radebe as two very respected central defenders in England. It took France more than half an hour to open the score, when substitute Dugarry got in front of Vonk to head in a corner by Zidane. In the second half, Dugarry had a goal disallowed for offside, then Vonk had Djorkaeff’s weak shot covered before Issa lunged it past him into his own goal. Djorkaeff blazed over the bar after a splendid run by Henry, who skipped past Jackson in injury time and chipped low over Vonk.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 13-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 33.257 REFEREE: Esfandiar Baharmast (USA) GOALS: 1-0 Hierro 21’); 1-1 (Mutiu 24’); 2-1 (Raúl 47’); 2-2 (Zubizarreta [o.g.] 73’); 2-3 (Oliseh 78’)
		Spain - Nigeria
		2-3 (1-1)
SPAIN Zubizarreta (c) Ferrer (Amor 46’), Alkorta, Iván Campo, Sergi Luis Enrique, Hierro, Nadal (Celades 77’), Raúl Alfonso (Etxeberría 58’), Kiko COACH: Javier Clemente			NIGERIA Rufai Oparaku (Yekini 70’), Uche (c), West, Babayaro Finidi, Oliseh, Mutiu, Okocha, Lawal (Okpara 90+’) Ikpeba (Babangida 83’) COACH: Bora Milutinović
GAME SUMMARY Disaster for Spain, who was unable once more to start the final stage of a World Cup with a victory. Although the Spaniards went twice ahead in the score, they ended up loosing after a terrible mistake by Zubizarreta. The Spanish ambition before the game came to nothing after Javier Clemente crowded the team with four central defenders, with two of them in control of the midfield (Hierro and Nadal). The idea was to send the attackers clear with long passes, and Raúl had the chance to open the score with such a play, but his shot was deflected by the crossbar. It was Hierro who scored the first goal with a low free kick which bounced in as Rufai stood and watched, but Mutiu equalized soon after heading a corner by Lawal. Right after halftime, Raúl coolly volleyed in Hierro’s good long ball, and it looked like Spain would be in control of the game, especially as little Okocha had disappeared once Nadal went back into defense. But in minute 65 the game went suddenly crazy with a series a chained misses by Finidi, Luis Enrique, Raúl, Rufai and Hierro. Then a goalkeeping error turned the game upside-down, as Lawal’s harmless low cross from the left was palmed into his own net by Zubizarreta. Spain’s confidence was turned off like a stopcock, and suddenly everything Nigeria did came off. Hierro’s defensive header was lashed in from beyond the penalty area by Oliseh, the unsighted Zubizarreta doing well to get his fingertips to the ball, which went in off the near post.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 13-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.588 REFEREE: Günter Benkö (AUT) GOALS: 1-0 (Ha Suk-joo 28’); 1-1 (Peláez 51’); 1-2 (Hernández 74’); 1-3 (Hernández 84’) [Incidents: Ha Suk-joo was sent off (min. 30).]
		South Korea - Mexico
		1-3 (1-0)
SOUTH KOREA Kim B.J. Kim T.Y., Hong M.B., Lee M.S., Yoo S.C. (c) Noh J.Y. (Jang H.S. 55’), Ko J.S. (Su J.W. 71’), Lee S.Y., Ha S.J. Kim D.K. (Choi S.Y. 60’), Kim D.H. COACH: Cha Bum-keun			MEXICO Campos Pardo, Suárez, Davino, Luna (Arellano 46’) Ramírez, Ordiales (Peláez 46’), García Aspe (c) (Bernal 71’), Lara Hernández, Blanco COACH: Manuel Lapuente
GAME SUMMARY South Korea didn’t have time to ride their luck. A minute after his free kick had flicked Davino’s head and sent Campos the wrong way, Ha Suk-joo was shown a red card for catching Ramírez from behind. Peláez, who had came on as a substitute after halftime, eventually equalized following a corner, and Hernández killed off the diminished Korean team by touching in a volley (together with Peláez) and converting Blanco’s square pass.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 13-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 75.000 REFEREE: Pierluigi Collina (ITA) GOALS: - [Incidents: Kluivert was sent off (min. 80).]
		Netherlands - Belgium
		0-0 (0-0)
NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Winter, Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan Seedorf (Zenden 65’), R. de Boer (Jonk 78’), Cocu, Overmars Hasselbaink (Bergkamp 65’), Kluivert COACH: Guus Hiddink			BELGIUM De Wilde Crasson (Deflandre 22’), Staelens, Verstraeten, Borkelmans Van der Elst (c), Clément, Wilmots, Boffin Nilis, Oliveira (É. Mpenza 60’) COACH: Georges Leekens
GAME SUMMARY Netherland and Belgium, two teams who had traditionally cultivated the skillful play, had become now very physical squads with a taste for the challenge and tackle. Crasson, who couldn’t cope with Overmars, was soon replaced by Deflandre, who kept the little Dutch winger at bay with constant fouls. Holland did most of the attacking in this game, but two muscular defenses (led by the skinheads Stam and Verstraeten) were generally in control. Kluivert, frustrated throughout, was sent off near the end for reacting to some comments by Staelens.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 14-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 33.400 REFEREE: Mario van der Ende (NED) GOALS: 1-0 (Batistuta 28’)
		Argentina - Japan
		1-0 (1-0)
ARGENTINA Roa Vivas, Ayala, Sensini (Chamot 72’) Zanetti, Almeyda, Simeone (c), Verón, Ortega Batistuta, Claudio López (Balbo 61’) COACH: Daniel Passarella			JAPAN Kawaguchi Nakanishi, Ihara (c), Akita Narahashi, Yamaguchi, Nanami, Soma (Hirano 84’), Nakata Nakayama (Lopes 65’), Jo COACH: Takeshi Okada
GAME SUMMARY Japan were the first country to have qualified for the finals thanks to a sudden death “Golden Goal” (newly introduced in the World Cup), but they had left out their leading goalscorer Kazu Miura and failed to take their chances against Argentina. Some of the pre-match publicity centered on the 21-year-old Hidetoshi Nakata, who was said to be using the tournament as a shop window for a move to Europe. However, in his first continental game he didn’t make a great impression, standing out more for his burnt orange hair than any real penetration. At the other end, Argentina were as lethal in attack as ever. When the ball broke to Batistuta off Nanami, he bided his time before chipping it coolly over the diving keeper. Batistuta also headed against a post in each half, a goalscoring threat that was the difference between both teams.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 14-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 30.392 REFEREE: Alberto Tejada (PER) GOALS: 1-0 (Mihajlović 72’)
		Yugoslavia - Iran
		1-0 (0-0)
YUGOSLAVIA Kralj Jokanović, Mirković, Đorović, Mihajlović, Petrović Brnović (Stanković 50’), Jugović, Stojković (c) (Kovačević 68’) Mijatović, Milošević (Ognjenović 58’) COACH: Slobodan Santrač			IRAN Nakisa Khakpour, Mohammadkhani (c), Pashazadeh Mahdavikia, Zarincheh, Estili (Mansourian 68’), Minavand, Bagheri Azizi, Ali Daei COACH: Jalal Talebi
GAME SUMMARY Đorović hit the bar with a looping header from an early corner, but Yugoslavia were incoherent throughout. Things improved in the second half with the substitution of Stojković (who was past his best) and the entry of three new players, but Yugoslavia had to rely on an old staple for their goal. Siniša Mihajlović, who proved his value as free kicker in Italy, took advantage of a badly positioned wall to score. Although Mahdavikia made some positive runs up the right, Iran didn’t quite belong at this level yet.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 14-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 38.058 REFEREE: Vítor Manuel Melo Pereira (POR) GOALS: 0-1 (Stanić 27’); 1-1 (Earle 45’); 1-2 (Prosinečki 53’); 1-3 (Šuker 69’)
		Jamaica - Croatia
		1-3 (1-1)
JAMAICA Barrett (c) Sinclair, Lowe, Goodison Earle (Williams 74’), Cargill (Powell 69’), Simpson, Whitmore, Gardner Hall (Boyd 81’), Burton COACH: Renê Simões			CROATIA Ladić Šimić (Vlaović 74’), Soldo, Štimac Bilić, Boban (c), Prosinečki, Asanović, Jarni Stanić, Šuker COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY The game between two debutants in the World Cup was only colorful in the players’ kits (Jamaica in yellow, Croatia in red and white checks, like tablecloths on a picnic lawn). Miroslav Blažević missed two staples in the Croatian attack: Alen Bokšić (injured) and Igor Cvitanović (left out of the squad for indiscipline), so he had to place Mario Stanić, normally a wing back, playing up front with Šuker. Even so, Croatia (who had emerged in Euro 96) where expected to defeat Jamaica without much trouble. The Caribbean forwards were so goal-shy that they’d recently set a world record by playing in five consecutive 0-0 draws. Although Šimić headed Earle’s header off the line, Štimac shot against the bar and Stanić knocked in the rebound after disentangling the ball from under his legs. Soldo hit the bar soon afterward, but just before halftime the 19-year-old Gardner crossed from the left and Earle leapt up to head in the equalizer. In the second half, Croatia regained the lead with either a superb finish or a chunk of luck (a situation similar to Hagi’s breathtaking goal against Colombia in 1994): Prosinečki dummied to cross from the left, cut back toward the goal line, and whipped a shot (or cross) over the keeper and in off Lowe’s arm. Almost from the ensuing kick-off, Jamaica missed a great chance for a second equalizer, Burton glancing a header wide, so Croatia were able to seal the match when Šuker chested down Stanić’s cross and had his shot deflected over Barrett by Gardner.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 15-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 54.587 REFEREE: Masayoshi Okada (JAP) GOALS: 1-0 (Shearer 43’); 2-0 (Scholes 89’)
		England - Tunisia
		2-0 (1-0)
ENGLAND Seaman Southgate, Adams, Campbell Anderton, Batty, Ince, Scholes, Le Saux Sheringham (Owen 85’), Shearer (c) COACH: Glenn Hoddle			TUNISIA El-Ouaer Bouqadida, Badra, S. Trabelsi (c), Clayton H. Trabelsi (Thabet 79’), Ghodhbane, Chihi, Souayah (Baya 46’) Ben Slimane (Ben Younes 65’), Sellimi COACH: Henryk Kasperczak
GAME SUMMARY Unlike the pre-match violence between English and Tunisian fans, the game itself wasn’t much of a contest. The North Africans looked like one of the weakest and least ambitious teams in the tournament, and England won without much trouble. Scholes was unmarked when he headed Le Saux’s cross straight at the keeper, who later did well to touch Sheringham’s dipping volley onto the bar. Eventually, Shearer headed Le Saux’s free kick past an eccentric dive by El-Ouaer to open the score just before halftime. In the second half, England’s final ball wasn’t too good, so they had to wait till the end for their clinching goal: Ince backheeled to Scholes, who broke a tackle before whipping the ball inside the post from the edge of the area.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 15-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.572 REFEREE: An-Yan Lim Kee Chong (MAU) GOALS: 1-0 (Ilie 45+’)
		Romania - Colombia
		1-0 (1-0)
ROMANIA Stelea Petrescu, Munteanu, Ciobotariu, Gică Popescu Filipescu, Gabi Popescu (Stîngă 68’), Hagi (c) (Marinescu 76’), Gâlcă Moldovan (Niculescu 84’), Ilie COACH: Anghel lordănescu			COLOMBIA Mondragón Cabrera, Bermúdez, Palacios, Santa Lozano, Serna, Aristizábal (Valencia 46’), Valderrama (c) Rincón, Asprilla (Preciado 84’) COACH: Hernán Gómez
GAME SUMMARY Colombia had failed to win any of their six international games since qualifying, partly because they were still using the 36-year-old Valderrama as their orchestrator, and his passes were more unthreatening than ever. Asprilla was cancelled by the marking of the towering Filipescu (he was even sent home after this match for his critics to the Colombian coach and not turning up for training). A rough unsatisfying match was finally decided by a sumptuous goal: Hagi’s backheel touched a defender on its way to Ilie on the left, and the Romanian attacker cut outside Serna before showing great technique and confidence in digging the ball over the keeper with his right foot.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 15-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 43.815 REFEREE: Saïd Belqola (MOR) GOALS: 1-0 (Möller 8’); 2-0 (Klinsmann 64’)
		Germany - USA
		2-0 (1-0)
GERMANY Köpke Reuter (Ziege 70’), Wörns, Thon, Kohler Jeremies, Möller (Babbel 89’), Häßler (Hamann 50’), Heinrich Klinsmann (c), Bierhoff COACH: Berti Vogts			USA Keller Burns (Hejduk 46’), Dooley (c), Pope, Régis Deering (Tab Ramos 72’), Maisonneuve, Cobi Jones, Stewart Reyna, Wynalda (Wegerle 65’) COACH: Steve Sampson
GAME SUMMARY The USA were dogged in defense, the promising young Pope sticking gamely to Bierhoff, but they were so toothless up front that even Kohler felt free to join in attacks. The German midfield rotated splendidly, Möller surging forward time and again. He headed the first goal when Klinsmann outjumped Régis and Pope to nod the ball across. The North American coach Steve Sampson had dropped Harkes from the squad, putting his faith in Reyna’s touch, who didn’t play up to his reputation. When Bierhoff crossed from the right, Klinsmann lost the 37-year-old Dooley before chesting the ball down and sidefooting a volley across the keeper.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 16-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 30.236 REFEREE: László Vágner (HUN) GOALS: 0-1 (H. Flo 46’); 1-1 (Burley 66’)
		Scotland - Norway
		1-1 (0-0)
SCOTLAND Leighton Boyd, Calderwood (Weir 59’), Hendry (c), Burley Collins, Lambert, Dailly, Jackson (McNamara 61’) Gallacher, Durie COACH: Craig Brown			NORWAY Grodås (c) Johnsen, Eggen, Bjørnebye, Berg (Halle 81’) Riseth (Østenstad 71’), Strand, Rekdal, H. Flo (Jakobsen 60’) Solbakken, T.A. Flo COACH: Egil Olsen
GAME SUMMARY Norway, needing to win so as not to rely on a result against Brazil, played a negative first half, but Scotland again had no guile or thrust up front. Right after halftime, Håvard Flo arrived unnoticed at the far post to head in Riseth’s low cross from the left. Scotland equalized when substitute Weir hit a straightforward long ball, Grodås stayed in no man’s land, and Burley lobbed it in. Norway were in disarray after that, but Scotland weren’t much better either.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 16-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 33.266 REFEREE: Nikolaj Levnikov (RUS) GOALS: 1-0 (Ronaldo 9’); 2-0 (Rivaldo 45+’); 3-0 (Bebeto 50’)
		Brazil - Morocco
		3-0 (2-0)
BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Júnior Baiano, Aldair, Roberto Carlos C. Sampaio (Doriva 68’), Dunga (c), Leonardo, Rivaldo (Denílson 87’) Bebeto (Edmundo 72’), Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo			MOROCCO Benzekri Saber (Abrami 76’), Naybet (c), Rossi, El-Hadrioui Chippo, El-Khalej, Chiba (Amzine 76’), Hadji Bassir, Hadda (El-Khattabi 88’) COACH: Henri Michel
GAME SUMMARY Having shaken off some cobwebs, Brazil put the Moroccans firmly in their place with a 3-0 victory which made them the first team to reach the next round. Ronaldo opened the score when he pulled away from the last defender to hit a confident low volley from the edge of the area. Rivaldo, whose instant long ball had made the chance, sidefooted the second from a pass by Cafu. In the second half, Ronaldo (who had suffered a hard tackle from Chiba early on) took the ball away from Saber, beat Rossi on the outside, and made an open goal for the disappointing Bebeto.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 17-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 30.392 REFEREE: Gamal el-Ghandour (EGY) GOALS: 1-0 (Salas 70’); 1-1 (Vastić 90+’)
		Chile - Austria
		1-1 (0-0)
CHILE Tapia Reyes, Margas, Fuentes Villarroel (Castañ. 69’), Acuña, Parraguez, Estay (Sierra 56’), Rojas Zamorano (c), Salas COACH: Nelson Acosta			AUSTRIA Konsel Schöttel, Feiersinger, Pfeffer Cerny (Schopp 46’), Kühbauer (Herzog 46’), Mählich, Pfeifenberger Haas (Vastić 73’), Polster (c), Wetl COACH: Herbert Prohaska
GAME SUMMARY For the second time in a row, Austria snatched a late draw with a goal deep into injury time, and again it wasn’t clear whether they deserved it, after a dreadful match. Chile, frustrated once again, had more luck on their side this time. When Konsel made a good reflex save from Zamorano’s header, Salas caught the rebound with his thigh to score, as the keeper was judged to have dragged the ball over the line. However, Vastić equalized past regulation time by jagging to his right before curling the ball high beyond Tapia from outside the area.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 17-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.000 REFEREE: Edward Lennie (AUS) GOALS: 1-0 (Di Biagio 7’); 2-0 (Vieri 75’); 3-0 (Vieri 89’) [Incidents: Kalla was sent off (min. 42).]
		Italy - Cameroon
		3-0 (1-0)
ITALY Pagliuca Costacurta, Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini (c) Moriero (Di Livio 83’), Albertini (Di Matteo 62’), Di Biagio, D. Baggio Vieri, R. Baggio (Del Piero 65’) COACH: Cesare Maldini			CAMEROON Songo'o Song, Kalla, N'Janka Womé, Olembé, M'Boma (Eto'o 66’), Angibeaud, N'Do Ipoua (Job 46’), Omam-Biyik (c) (Tchami 66’) COACH: Claude le Roy
GAME SUMMARY Italy had to undergo the same physical play inflicted by Cameroon on Austria, but this time the African team had more talented opposition to deal with. As soon as minute 7, Roberto Baggio’s good flat cross from the left was put in by Di Biagio’s sharp header for the opener. The gigantic Kalla was sent off near halftime for sliding in, studs up, on Di Biagio, and N'Janka should have joined him after a foul from behind on Roberto Baggio (who didn’t recover and had to be substituted). Then Vieri, put clear by Moriero on the right, superbly chipped the keeper to make it 2-0. The rugged Italian attacker had a goal disallowed for offside after Del Piero’s sweet dribble, but near the end nudged Womé in the back to get to a loose ball, which he bundled into the ground and up over the keeper.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 18-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 36.500 REFEREE: John Jairo Toro (COL) GOALS: 0-1 (Nielsen 13’); 1-1 (McCarthy 52’) [Incidents: Molnár (min. 67), Phiri (min. 70), and Wieghorst (min. 85) were all sent off.]
		South Africa - Denmark
		1-1 (0-1)
SOUTH AFRICA Vonk Fish, Issa, Radebe (c), Nyathi (Buckley 88’) Mkhalele, Moshoeu, Augustine (Phiri 46’), Fortune Bartlett (Masinga 77’), McCarthy COACH: Philippe Troussier			DENMARK Schmeichel Colding, Høgh, Schjønberg (Wieghorst 82’), Rieper Helveg, Nielsen, M. Laudrup (c) (Heintze 58’), Jørgensen Sand (Molnár 58’), B. Laudrup COACH: Bo Johansson
GAME SUMMARY South Africa were often wide open at the back, and in one of the Danish attacks Nielsen was left unmarked to sidefoot in a volley from a fine cross by Brian Laudrup. But McCarthy showed some of his talent by taking Bartlett’s backheel and bursting between two defenders before shooting in off Schmeichel’s ankle. By the end, Denmark were happy to settle for a point, especially after Fortune hit the bar from nearly thirty meters in injury time. There were other close calls in this game, notably when Jørgensen hit a post directly from a corner and Sand also met the woodwork, or when McCarthy’s low cross from the right cut out Schmeichel, only for Mkhalele to miss a completely open goal (one of the greatest World Cup blunders). But the match was remarkable for its three red cards, all shown to substitutes and absolutely justified: Molnár for a violent follow-through on Radebe, Phiri for hitting Helveg with his forearm, Wieghorst for a tackle from behind on McCarthy. However, the media considered these three red cards excessive, and FIFA promptly dropped the Colombian referee from the tournament.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 18-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 75.000 REFEREE: Arturo Brizio Carter (MEX) GOALS: 1-0 (Henry 36’); 2-0 (Trézéguet 68’); 3-0 (Henry 77’); 4-0 (Lizarazu 85’) [Incidents: Al-Khilaiwi (min. 19) and Zidane (min. 71) were both sent off. Following the elimination of Saudi Arabia after this game, head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was fired.]
		France - Saudi Arabia
		4-0 (1-0)
FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu Deschamps (c), Boghossian, Zidane, Diomède (Djorkaeff 58’) Henry (Pirès 79’), Dugarry (Trézéguet 30’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			SAUDI ARABIA Al-Deayea Al-Jahani (Dokhi 76’), Al-Khilaiwi, Zubromawi, Sulaimani Saleh, Kh. Al-Owairan, Amin (c), Al-Shahrani S. Al-Owairan (Al-Harbi 33’ (Al-Muwallid 65’)), Al-Jaber COACH: Carlos Alberto Parreira
GAME SUMMARY France would surely have won anyway, but the contest was made cruelly unequal by the rather harsh sending-off of Al-Khilaiwi for a late tackle on Lizarazu. At this juncture, Saudi Arabia had to defend on the trench for the last seventy minutes, with Zubromawi heroic in the air. Following a terrible miss by Zidane, who volleyed wide with only the keeper in front of him, France scored a very good goal: Spinning out of a challenge, Zidane flicked a pass that set Lizarazu free on the left, and Henry dragged his low cross into an open goal. Trézéguet missed several half-chances before scoring from the easiest, heading into an empty net when Al-Deayea let Thuram’s cross slip out of his gloves behind him. Then Zidane was sent off for stamping on Amin’s rump, allegedly in response to some verbal abuse by the Saudi captain. A bad slip by Khamis al-Owairan allowed Henry to run on and push the ball wide of the resigned keeper, but the fourth French goal was better, Lizarazu cracking in Djorkaeff’s backheel. France were through into the next round as early as expected, but Zidane’s absence in the the first game of that stage following a two-game suspension would be a worry.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 19-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 48.500 REFEREE: Mario Sánchez Yantén (CHI) GOALS: 1-0 (Ikpeba 26’)
		Nigeria - Bulgaria
		1-0 (1-0)
NIGERIA Rufai Uche (c), West, Babayaro Oliseh, Finidi (Babangida 84’), Mutiu, Okocha, Lawal Ikpeba (Yekini 75’), Amokachi (Kanu 67’) COACH: Bora Milutinović			BULGARIA Zdravkov Yankov (Bachev 84’), Kishishev, T. Ivanov (c), Ginchev, I. Petkov Iliev (Penev 66’), Khristov (Borimirov 46’), Balăkov Stoichkov, Kostadinov COACH: Khristo Bonev
GAME SUMMARY Nigeria, playing at half throttle, had no problems defeating a mediocre Bulgarian team. The bearded Trifon Ivanov, a shadow of the player he was in 1994, was easily beaten by Ikpeba for the only goal of the game. Bulgaria could have equalized four minutes from time when Kostadinov’s classy backheel gave Stoichkov space for a shot that hit the bar, but a draw would have distorted the enormous superiority of Nigeria over Bulgaria.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 19-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.300 REFEREE: Ian McLeod (SAF) GOALS: -
		Spain - Paraguay
		0-0 (0-0)
SPAIN Zubizarreta (c) Aguilera, Abelardo (Celades 56’), Alkorta, Sergi Etxeberría, Amor, Hierro, Luis Enrique Raúl (Kiko 65’), Pizzi (Morientes 52’) COACH: Javier Clemente			PARAGUAY Chilavert (c) Sarabia, Ayala, Gamarra, Caniza Arce, Acuña (Yegros 73’), Enciso, Campos (Paredes 46’) Benítez, A. Rojas (Ramírez 83’) COACH: Paulo César Carpeggiani
GAME SUMMARY Spain, in need of a victory after their fiasco against Nigeria, began the game nervously and got worse, so Paraguay, as defensive as ever, had no trouble achieving another draw. Clemente introduced five new players and changed the tactical concepts of the team, but the result was as frustrating as in the opening match. The long balls of the game against Nigeria became now short and more controlled passes, but the Spanish attacks were too predictable for the South American defenders. It took more than twenty minutes to produce the first clear chance of the game, when Chilavert saved a header by Pizzi. Later on, the Paraguayan goalkeeper showed he was more than an eccentric showman by making a brilliant save from Raúl. Spain, who started the tournament as group favorites, came to depend now on the outcome of the game Nigeria vs. Paraguay to qualify for the next stage.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 20-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 39.000 REFEREE: Ramesh Ramdhan (TRI) GOALS: 0-1 (Šuker 77’)
		Japan - Croatia
		0-1 (0-0)
JAPAN Kawaguchi Narahashi (Morishima 79’), Ihara (c), Akita, Nakanishi, Soma Yamaguchi, Nakata, Nanami (Lopes 84’) Jo, Nakayama (Okano 61’) COACH: Takeshi Okada			CROATIA Ladić Štimac (Vlaović 46’), Bilić, Soldo Šimić, Jurčić, Prosinečki (Marić 67’), Asanović, Jarni Stanić (Tudor 88’), Šuker (c) COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY Japan were neat and determined in this game, but lacked an international class striker who could operate at this level of competition. In contrast, Croatia showed a constant threat in Šuker’s left foot. The Real Madrid attacker hit the bar with a clever volleyed lob before he scored the only goal of the game. Like the Jamaican defense, Japan didn’t spot him drifting away from the last man at the far post. The move had begun when Asanović intercepted a pass by Nakata (who was still advertising his skills in Europe and wanted too much time on the ball) and crossed the ball to the right wing for Šuker, who beat Kawaguchi with a left-footed ground shot. Croatia had generally looked sluggish, but their beefy and experienced central defenders coped easily with Japan’s rather unimaginative final ball.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 20-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 34.750 REFEREE: Hugh Dallas (SCO) GOALS: 1-0 (Wilmots 43’); 2-0 (Wilmots 47’); 2-1 (García Aspe [p.] 55’); 2-2 (Blanco 62’) [Incidents: Pardo (min. 28) and Verheyen (min. 54) were both sent off.]
		Belgium - Mexico
		2-2 (1-0)
BELGIUM De Wilde Deflandre, Vidović, Staelens, Borkelmans Boffin (Verheyen 17’), Scifo, Van der Elst (c) (De Boeck 67’) Nilis (É. Mpenza 77’), Oliveira, Wilmots COACH: Georges Leekens			MEXICO Campos Suárez, Pardo, Davino, J. Sánchez, Ramírez García Aspe (c) (Lara 67’), Ordiales (Villa 57’), Palencia (Arellano 46’) Blanco, Hernández COACH: Manuel Lapuente
GAME SUMMARY Belgium seemed to be in control of the game when they took a 2-0 lead against ten men. After Pardo had been sent off for crippling Borkelmans from behind, a corner kick hit Wilmots in the ribs and bounced in between Campos’ legs. The second Belgian goal, right after the break, was just as unconvincing as the first: Wilmots showed poor control, but then nicked the ball past a man, broke a tackle and scuffed the ball past Campos. Mexico were rescued by a penalty given for Verheyen’s red-card foul on Ramírez and converted by captain García Aspe. With numbers equal again, Arellano’s good cross-field pass set Ramírez free on the left, and his cross found Blanco unmarked to volley in at the far post. Mexico still didn’t look a quality side but were lively throughout, whereas the Belgians, with an average age of almost 32 years, were running on empty by the end.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 20-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 55.000 REFEREE: Ryszard Wójcik (POL) GOALS: 1-0 (Cocu 38’); 2-0 (Overmars 42’); 3-0 (Bergkamp 71’); 4-0 (Van Hooijdonk 80’); 5-0 (R. de Boer 83’) [Incidents: Following the elimination of South Korea after this game, head coach Cha Bum-keun was fired.]
		Netherlands - South Korea
		5-0 (2-0)
NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Winter, Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan (Bogarde 80’) R. de Boer (Zenden 84’), Jonk, Davids, Overmars Cocu, Bergkamp (Van Hooijdonk 78’) COACH: Guus Hiddink			SOUTH KOREA Kim B.J. Choi Y.I. (c), Hong M.B., Lee M.S., Choi S.Y. (Kim T.Y. 53’) Yoo S.C., Lee S.Y., Su J.W. (Lee D.G. 77’), Kim D.K. Kim D.H. (Ko J.S. 69’), Choi Y.S. COACH: Cha Bum-keun
GAME SUMMARY Easy for Holland against a team who let them play their game. Cocu, playing up front, made room for a fierce left-footer which left the keeper standing. Then Overmars cut inside before cracking the ball in low at the near post to make it 2-0 before halftime. Bergkamp, sharp from the start against a massed defense, scored a fine individual goal, needing a little luck to break a tackle by Lee Min-sung but cleverly beating Lee Sang-yoon before hitting the target. Van Hooijdonk headed Overmars’ cross past an exposed keeper for the fourth goal, and Ronald de Boer turned inside Lee Min-sung before hitting a heavy volley. Despite the scoreline, Hong Myung-bo had another good game in defense, but Holland were simply different class. Numan was very smooth on the left, the “pitbull” Davids a well-known midfield enforcer, the De Boer brothers (Frank and Ronald) quietly efficient as usual.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 21-06-1998 (14:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 41.275 REFEREE: Kim Milton Nielsen (DEN) GOALS: 0-1 (Mijatović 13’); 0-2 (Stojković 54’); 1-2 (Mihajlović [o.g.] 73’); 2-2 (Bierhoff 80’) [Incidents: Although the first Yugoslav goal is officially credited to Mijatović, it should be assigned as an own goal by Jeremies, who deflected a rebound ball into the German net. The German midfielder Lothar Matthäus came on in the second half to play his 22nd finals match, a new record at the time, thus breaking the famous “Żmuda haunting,” which prevented several players before (Żmuda, Seeler, Maradona and Matthäus himself) from playing more than 21 games in the final stage of the World Cup. After the game, four German fans were imprisoned for leaving French gendarme Daniel Nivel in a coma during a series of clashes between riot police and hooligans in the streets of Lens.]
		Germany - Yugoslavia
		2-2 (0-1)
GERMANY Köpke Ziege (Tarnat 66’), Wörns, Thon, Kohler Jeremies, Hamann (Matthäus 46’), Möller (Kirsten 57’), Heinrich Bierhoff, Klinsmann (c) COACH: Berti Vogts			YUGOSLAVIA Kralj Komljenović, Đorović, Mihajlović, Petrović (Stević 74’) Jokanović, Stanković (Govedarica 66’), Jugović, Stojković (c) Mijatović, Kovačević (Ognjenović 57’) COACH: Slobodan Santrač
GAME SUMMARY In a very hot early evening game, Germany’s veterans only lasted the pace because Yugoslavia took their foot off the pedal after going two goals up. The Yugoslavs scored their first when Köpke was distracted by Stanković (who touched the ball very slightly) and let a low left-wing cross from Mijatović flick his knee on the way behind him; the ball came back off the far post, caught Jeremies in the chest, and barely crossed the line. Germany were uncertain in goal and central defense, where Thon (a converted midfielder) was usually absent, and missed the cleverness of Häßler in midfield. When Köpke made a horrible mess of Kovačević’s low cross, Stojković put the ball into an empty net. Surely this creaking German team didn’t have the quality nor the strength to add to their history of famous comebacks. Ziege, not fully recovered from injury, wasn’t the dynamic influence he had been in Euro 96, so his substitution was a vital change for Germany. When his replacement Tarnat lashed in a long free kick, Mihajlović lifted a leg to send Kralj the wrong way. Soon afterwards, Bierhoff’s backheader from a corner was touched onto the bar by the keeper, a warning of what would come later: the German attacker, very powerful in the air, equalized with an imperious header from a corner.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 21-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 48.500 REFEREE: Rune Pedersen (NOR) GOALS: 1-0 (Ortega 31’); 2-0 (Ortega 55’); 3-0 (Batistuta 72’); 4-0 (Batistuta 76’); 5-0 (Batistuta [p.] 83’) [Incidents: Powell was sent off (min. 45+).]
		Argentina - Jamaica
		5-0 (1-0)
ARGENTINA Roa Sensini (Vivas 25’), Ayala, Chamot Zanetti, Almeyda, Simeone (c) (Pineda 80’), Verón, Ortega Batistuta, Claudio López (Gallardo 75’) COACH: Daniel Passarella			JAMAICA Barrett (c) Sinclair, Dawes, Goodison Whitmore (Earle 73’), Malcolm (Boyd 62’), Simpson, Powell, Gardner Burton (Cargill 46’), Hall COACH: Renê Simões
GAME SUMMARY The final scoreline shows the huge competitive difference between Argentina and Jamaica, although better sides than the Caribbeans would have struggled to cope with “Burrito” Ortega’s buzzing skill in this game. At the half hour, he lifted the ball deftly over Barrett after receiving a pass from Verón. When Powell was sent off before halftime for a second bookable offence (a foul on Ortega), it was impossible for Jamaica’s ten men to hold out under the Argentinian attacks. In the second half, Ortega clipped the ball over the keeper again after going between two defenders, then set up Batistuta for the third goal with a neat square flick. The latter made his second with a powerful shot, and completed his hat-trick with a penalty awarded after Dawes levered Ortega (who else?) to the ground.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 21-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 44.000 REFEREE: Urs Meier (SWI) GOALS: 0-1 (Estili 40’); 0-2 (Mahdavikia 84’); 1-2 (McBride 87’)
		USA - Iran
		1-2 (0-1)
USA Keller Pope, Régis, Dooley (c) (Maisonneuve 82’) Hejduk, Cobi Jones, Reyna, Tab Ramos (Stewart 57’) Wegerle (Preki 57’), McBride, Moore COACH: Steve Sampson			IRAN Abedzadeh (c) Khakpour, Pashazadeh, Zarincheh (Saadavi 77’), Minavand Mahdavikia, Bagheri, Estili, Mohammadkhani (Peyrovani 75’) Ali Daei, Azizi (Mansourian 74’) COACH: Jalal Talebi
GAME SUMMARY The footbal squads of the USA and Iran didn’t show on the pitch the same hostility as these two countries at war, as they took a joint team photo and exchanged gifts. The North Americans hit a post through Reyna (very disappointing again) after 33 minutes and Régis in minute 73, but Iran’s counterattacks were decisive. Near halftime, Zarincheh skillfully hooked a cross which was put away by Estili’s dropping header. Mahdavikia confirmed the impression he’d made against Yugoslavia. Fast and full of running, he ran clear from halfway to shoot hard across Keller, who did well to get his fingers to the ball but couldn’t prevent the second Iranian goal. Then McBride pulled one back with a deflected header when Abedzadeh missed a corner, but Iran could have killed the game with another breakaway, in which Keller saved from Ali Daei, whose shot was kicked off the line by Régis.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 22-06-1998 (17:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Bernd Heynemann (GER) GOALS: 1-0 (Preciado 83’) [Incidents: Following the elimination of Tunisia after this game, head coach Henryk Kasperczak was fired.]
		Colombia - Tunisia
		1-0 (0-0)
COLOMBIA Mondragón Cabrera, Palacios, Bermúdez, Santa Serna (Bolaño 62’), Lozano, Valderrama (c), Rincón (Aristizábal 56’) De Ávila, Valencia (Preciado 56’) COACH: Hernán Gómez			TUNISIA El-Ouaer S. Trabelsi (c), Chouchane, Thabet (Ghodhbane 76’), Clayton Chihi, Bouazizi, Baya (Ben Ahmed 73’), Souayah Sellimi (Ben Younes 68’), Ben Slimane COACH: Henryk Kasperczak
GAME SUMMARY On another hot day in the tournament, two non-tackling midfields allowed the opposition a string of chances. Mondragón punched the ball onto Bouazizi’s shoulder and against the bar and turned Ben Slimane’s header onto a post, Valencia headed Valderrama’s corner against another, and De Ávila also hit a post near the end. Valderrama rarely misplaced a pass, but did little damage until his superb angled through-ball sent Preciado past Sami Trabelsi’s desperate lunge for a low shot that the keeper touched on its way in. After the game, Kasperczak became the third coach to be sacked before the tournament was over, while Colombia were left hoping that England and Romania didn’t play out a draw later in the day.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 22-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.500 REFEREE: Marc Batta (FRA) GOALS: 1-0 (Moldovan 46’); 1-1 (Owen 83’); 2-1 (Petrescu 89’)
		Romania - England
		2-1 (0-0)
ROMANIA Stelea Petrescu, Gică Popescu, Ciobotariu, Munteanu Filipescu, Gâlcă, Gabi Popescu, Hagi (c) (Stîngă 73’ (Marinescu 84’)) Ilie, Moldovan (Lăcătuş 86’) COACH: Anghel lordănescu			ENGLAND Seaman Neville, Adams, Campbell Anderton, Batty, Ince (Beckham 33’), Scholes, Le Saux Sheringham (Owen 73’), Shearer (c) COACH: Glenn Hoddle
GAME SUMMARY Romania kept the ball so well during the game that England looked uncomfortable in every department. Although Hagi was past his best, he still had the talent and the inspiration to choose the best option. Right after halftime, he wheeled away from Le Saux in receiving a throw-in on the right, then lobbed a cross over Adams for Moldovan to chest down and volley past Seaman. Romania played keep-ball after taking the lead, and England looked unimaginative to break the lock. Adams was shaky, Scholes and Sheringham invisible, and Shearer didn’t get the ball under the heavy marking of Filipescu. Beckham, who had a quiet first half, made some good passes in the second. One of them sent Shearer wide to put in a low cross from the right, Scholes turned Gică Popescu, and the 18-year-old Owen got there first to volley in the loose ball. Both sides would have settled for a draw, but in the last minute Munteanu’s long ball from the left touchline was met by Petrescu’s diagonal run into the area, where he chested the ball down and held off Le Saux before shooting between Seaman’s legs. There was still time for Owen to run forward in injury time and hit the post with a low shot from nearly 25 meters.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 23-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 39.000 REFEREE: László Vágner (HUN) GOALS: 1-0 (Sierra 20’); 1-1 (M'Boma 55’) [Incidents: Song (min. 51) and Lauren (min. 88) were both sent off.]
		Chile - Cameroon
		1-1 (1-0)
CHILE Tapia Margas, Fuentes, Reyes, Rojas (Miguel Ramírez 77’) Villarroel (Cornejo 70’), Acuña, Parraguez, Sierra (Estay 70’) Zamorano (c), Salas COACH: Nelson Acosta			CAMEROON Songo'o Pensée, Song, N'Janka, Womé N'Do (Lauren 82’), Mahouvé, Olembé (Angibeaud 68’), M'Boma Job (Tchami 72’), Omam-Biyik (c) COACH: Claude le Roy
GAME SUMMARY Midway the first half, Song took a wild kick at Zamorano to concede the free kick which Sierra curled left-footed into the top corner. In the second half, M'Boma beat Reyes in the air to head in Omam-Biyik’s cross for the equalizer. Later, Cameroon had more chances to go ahead, Tapia saving from Omam-Biyik and M'Boma. The former Cameroonian striker had two goals disallowed, the first one correctly, the second one when M'Boma was controversially penalized while jumping to head the ball on. As the irritation spread on this game, Song was sent off for elbowing Salas, and Lauren followed him near the end for a wild tackle on the same Chilean player. Chile were not blameless either for the hard play, and bookings for Rojas, Parraguez and Villarroel kept them out of the eight-final match against Brazil.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 23-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 75.000 REFEREE: Paul Durkin (ENG) GOALS: 1-0 (Vieri 49’); 2-0 (R. Baggio 89’); 2-1 (Herzog [p.] 90+’) [Incidents: Austria set a new (and curious) record in the World Cup finals for scoring an injury-time goal in each of their three group games.]
		Italy - Austria
		2-1 (0-0)
ITALY Pagliuca Costacurta, Nesta (Bergomi 4’), Cannavaro, Maldini (c) Moriero, D. Baggio, Di Biagio, Pessotto Del Piero (R. Baggio 72’), Vieri (Inzaghi 60’) COACH: Cesare Maldini			AUSTRIA Konsel Schöttel, Feiersinger, Pfeffer Mählich, Pfeifenberger (Herzog 80’), Kühbauer (Stöger 74’), Reinmayr Vastić, Polster (c) (Haas 62’), Wetl COACH: Herbert Prohaska
GAME SUMMARY Third time not so lucky for Austria, as their latest injury-time strike didn’t affect the final result. The referee allowed too many dangerous tackles in this game, Nesta injuring his knee so badly that didn’t play again until December (his substitute was the veteran Giuseppe Bergomi, who had recently been recalled to the Italian squad after a gap of seven years). With no rush at all, Italy bided their time before scoring early into the second half, when Vieri gatecrashed the defense to head in Del Piero’s short free kick. Near the end, Inzaghi’s return pass gave Roberto Baggio an easy tap-in for the second. Then Austria scored their “classic” injury-time goal (for the third time in the tournament), after a penalty awarded for a foul by Costacurta on Reinmayr, which Herzog converted.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 23-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 60.000 REFEREE: Esfandiar Baharmast (USA) GOALS: 1-0 (Bebeto 78’); 1-1 (T.A. Flo 83’); 1-2 (Rekdal [p.] 88’)
		Brazil - Norway
		1-2 (0-0)
BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Júnior Baiano, Gonçalves, Roberto Carlos Rivaldo, Leonardo, Dunga (c), Denílson Bebeto, Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo			NORWAY Grodås (c) Berg, Eggen, Johnsen, Bjørnebye Strand (Mykland 46’), Rekdal, Leonhardsen, Riseth (J. Flo 79’) H. Flo (Solskjær 68’), T.A. Flo COACH: Egil Olsen
GAME SUMMARY Norway, needing a victory to ensure qualification, defeated Brazil thanks to an impressing physical display and especially Tore André Flo, who produced one of the greatest individual performances of the tournament, good enough to overshadow Ronaldo. Júnior Baiano, faced with an opponent he couldn’t intimidate physically, was run into the ground by the Norwegian attacker. However, it looked like the Brazilian technique would finally prevail when Denílson was fouled during a run on the left, he got up before the free kick could be awarded and made another open goal for Bebeto. But then Tore André Flo equalized by cutting inside Júnior Baiano from the left and driving a low shot across the keeper. Near the end, Norway scored the winner after a debatable penalty, when Tore André Flo seemed to dive after some shirt-pulling by Júnior Baiano. Rekdal kept his nerve from the spot and Brazil lost a group match for the first time since 1966.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 23-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Ali Mohammed Bujsaim (UAE) GOALS: 0-1 (Bassir 22’); 0-2 (Hadda 46’); 0-3 (Bassir 85’) [Incidents: Burley was sent off (min. 53).]
		Scotland - Morocco
		0-3 (0-1)
SCOTLAND Leighton McNamara (T. McKinlay 54’), Hendry (c), Weir, Boyd Burley, Lambert, Collins, Dailly Durie (Booth 83’), Gallacher COACH: Craig Brown			MOROCCO Benzekri Saber (Rossi 72’), Abrami, Naybet (c) Hadji, Triki, Amzine (Azzouzi 76’), Chippo (Sellami 87’), El-Khalej Hadda, Bassir COACH: Henri Michel
GAME SUMMARY Morocco, skillful and fit, undid Scotland with long balls. When El-Khalej’s very long pass went over Hendry’s head, Bassir hit a massive volley between the keeper and the near post. Right after halftime, Hadda outpaced Weir as he chased another long ball and hit a high half-volley which Leighton could only knock behind him; as the Scottish goalkeeper chased back in horror, the ball bounced up into the roof of the net while he entangled himself in it. Then Burley was sent off for a back tackle on Bassir, and the game was over for Scotland. Bassir himself made the third by flipping the ball over Boyd and volleying in off Hendry. Unfortunately for Morocco, the unexpected defeat of Brazil in the other group game made their victory useless and they failed to qualify for the next round.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 24-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 43.500 REFEREE: Pierluigi Collina (ITA) GOALS: 1-0 (Djorkaeff [p.] 12’); 1-1 (M. Laudrup [p.] 42’); 2-1 (Petit 56’) [Incidents: In minute 80, Schmeichel kicked a ball so high that he sent it outside of the stadium.]
		France - Denmark
		2-1 (1-1)
FRANCE Barthez Karembeu, Leboeuf, Desailly (c), Candela Vieira, Petit (Boghossian 64’), Pirès (Henry 71’), Djorkaeff, Diomède Trézéguet (Guivarc'h 85’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			DENMARK Schmeichel Laursen (Colding 46’), Rieper, Høgh, Heintze Jørgensen (Sand 54’), Helveg, Nielsen, Schjønberg, M. Laudrup (c) B. Laudrup (Tøfting 75’) COACH: Bo Johansson
GAME SUMMARY Both penalties in this game were debatable, Høgh brushing the ball away before catching Trézéguet, Jørgensen leaning into Candela before falling. Djorkaeff and Michael Laudrup converted from the spot in the first half. Then Petit, remarkable for his fair hair tied back, scored the winner in the second half by hammering the ball in low through a crowded area. Denmark didn’t show much ambition in this match and looked like a poor side. Their attitude was exemplified by the substitution of their only world class attacker, Brian Laudrup, with Tøfting.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 24-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 34.500 REFEREE: Mario Sánchez Yantén (CHI) GOALS: 1-0 (Bartlett 19’); 1-1 (Al-Jaber [p.] 45’); 1-2 (Al-Thunayan [p.] 74’); 2-2 (Bartlett [p.] 90+’) [Incidents: Saudi Arabia’s assistant coach, Mohammed al-Kharashi, took over after the Brazilian head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was dismissed following a 4-0 defeat against France.]
		South Africa - Saudi Arabia
		2-2 (1-1)
SOUTH AFRICA Vonk Fish, Issa, Jackson (Buckley 46’), Nyathi, Radebe (c) Mkhalele, Moshoeu, Fortune (Khumalo 67’) Bartlett, McCarthy (Sikhosana 46’) COACH: Philippe Troussier			SAUDI ARABIA Al-Deayea Al-Jahani, Zubromawi, Sulaimani Al-Jaber, Kh. Al-Owairan, Saleh, Al-Temyat, Amin Al-Mehallel (Al-Shahrani 64’), Al-Thunayan (c) (Al-Harbi 81’) COACH: Mohammed al-Kharashi
GAME SUMMARY South Africa were still taking things seriously (they had sent Augustine and Mokoena home for nightclubbing) and played for the win that gave them a chance of going through. They were right on the track when Bartlett shot in at the near post, where Al-Deayea had left far too big a gap. But just before the break South Africa were undone by a debatable penalty conceded by Issa and converted by Al-Jaber. In the second half, a wrestle between Issa and Al-Shahrani led to another penalty against South Africa, and Al-Thunayan gave Saudi Arabia the lead. In injury time, Sulaimani conceded yet another penalty by fouling Sikhosana, and Bartlett converted from the spot his second goal of the game. As if Issa didn’t have enough problems in this match, FIFA investigated the possibility that he might have been wearing a listening device to receive instructions from his coach.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 24-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.500 REFEREE: Pirom Un-Prasert (THA) GOALS: 0-1 (Ayala 1’); 1-1 (Oruma 11’); 1-2 (Benítez 59’); 1-3 (Cardozo 86’)
		Nigeria - Paraguay
		1-3 (1-1)
NIGERIA Rufai Eguavoen, Okafor, West, Iroha Babangida, Oliseh (Okpara 46’), Oruma (Finidi 68’), Lawal Kanu (c), Yekini COACH: Bora Milutinović			PARAGUAY Chilavert (c) Gamarra, Ayala, Sarabia Arce, Enciso, Paredes, Caniza (Yegros 55’), Benítez (Acuña 67’) Brizuela (A. Rojas 77’), Cardozo COACH: Paulo César Carpeggiani
GAME SUMMARY Paraguay opened the score only 53 seconds after kick-off, when Ayala leaped in front of Rufai to hammer in a header from a free kick. Then Oliseh’s superb through-ball found Babangida, whose square ball was chipped over the diving keeper by Oruma. Chilavert had to make three very good saves, but Paraguay snatched their first clear chance when Benítez scored with a powerful shot from outside the area. In the last minutes, Cardozo’s low cross-shot finished a move which began with Rufai’s poor kick-out. In spite of the critics received by Milutinović for fielding some bench players and making Paraguay’s task easier at the expense of Spain (eliminated after this result), he was well within his rights to rest his players for the next round. Nigeria had already done their job before the game, but Clemente’s boys should have also done theirs so as not to depend on other results.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 24-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 41.275 REFEREE: Mario van der Ende (NED) GOALS: 1-0 (Hierro [p.] 6’); 2-0 (Luis Enrique 19’); 3-0 (Morientes 55’); 3-1 (Kostadinov 58’); 4-1 (Morientes 81’); 5-1 (Bachev [o.g.] 88’); 6-1 (Kiko 90+’)
		Spain - Bulgaria
		6-1 (2-0)
SPAIN Zubizarreta (c) Aguilera, Nadal, Alkorta, Sergi Etxeberría (Raúl 50’), Hierro, Amor, Luis Enrique (Guerrero 69’) Alfonso (Kiko 65’), Morientes COACH: Javier Clemente			BULGARIA Zdravkov Nankov (Penev 28’), Ginchev, T. Ivanov (c), Yordanov, Kishishev Borimirov, Bachev, Balăkov (Khristov 61’) Kostadinov, Stoichkov (Iliev 46’) COACH: Khristo Bonev
GAME SUMMARY Needing to win and hoping Nigeria did the same against Paraguay, Spain failed to qualify for the next stage as their thrashing on Bulgaria was useless after the defeat of the already qualified African team. Luis Enrique was involved in the first three goals: Yordanov gave him the merest shove for the penalty converted by Hierro, he shot in off the far post from Etxeberría’s return pass, then sent Morientes in to score with a cross-shot. Kostadinov pulled one back for Bulgaria when he cracked the ball in off the near post from a tight angle, but Morientes took Raúl’s volleyed through-ball round the keeper for the fourth Spanish goal. Near the end of the game, Kiko headed a corner against the bar, but the ball bounced off the keeper’s back and then in off Bachev. Finally, Kiko shot between Zdravkov’s legs after collecting a long free kick with no defender bothering to go with him. The score could have been even worse for Bulgaria, as Morientes hit the bar with a header. In spite of the easy game for Spain, there was an eerie silence in the stands for the last half hour as news came through from the match Nigeria vs. Paraguay.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 25-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Abdulrahman al-Zeid (KSA) GOALS: 1-0 (Cocu 4’); 2-0 (R. de Boer 18’); 2-1 (Peláez 75’); 2-2 (Hernández 90+’) [Incidents: Ramírez was sent off (min. 89).]
		Netherlands - Mexico
		2-2 (2-0)
NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Reiziger, Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan (Bogarde 71’) Jonk (Winter 70’), R. de Boer, Cocu, Davids Bergkamp (Hasselbaink 78’), Overmars COACH: Guus Hiddink			MEXICO Campos Suárez, J. Sánchez (Peláez 55’), Davino, Carmona Villa, Ramírez, García Aspe (c) Blanco, Hernández, Luna (Arellano 46’) COACH: Manuel Lapuente
GAME SUMMARY For the second time in a row, Mexico drew a match in which they had been 2-0 down, this time after being outclassed by Holland. Four minutes into the game, Bergkamp skillfully controlled a high ball before hitting a lob which Cocu met with a low volley across the keeper. Then Ronald de Boer won a header-on and held off three defenders before snapping a cross-shot in off the post. Holland bossed the rest of the half with their simple crisp passing, Mexico making no chances. Overmars should have made it 3-0 and Cocu hit the bar after fifty minutes, but the second half became scrappy, which suited the Mexicans. Then, with fifteen minutes left, Peláez’s header from a corner bounced between Bogarde and Blanco on its way in, and Mexico were suddenly back in the game. The Central Americans kept pushing to equalize, but when Blanco had a goal rightly disallowed, Ramírez was sent off for contesting the decision. It seemed the end of the Mexican hopes. However, in injury time, Stam got a simple ball tangled up under his feet to let in Hernández, who toepoked it under Van der Sar. This late equalizer was a vital goal for Mexico, who would qualify for the next stage unless Belgium could beat South Korea by two or more goals in the other group match.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 25-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 48.500 REFEREE: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (BRA) GOALS: 1-0 (Nilis 7’); 1-1 (Yoo Sang-chul 71’) [Incidents: South Korea’s assistant coach, Kim Pyung-seok, took over after head coach Cha Bum-keun was dismissed following a 5-0 defeat against Netherlands.]
		Belgium - South Korea
		1-1 (1-0)
BELGIUM Vande Walle Deflandre, Staelens, Vidović, Borkelmans Scifo (c) (Van der Elst 65’), Clément (É. Mpenza 74’), Van Kerckhoven Oliveira (M. Mpenza 46’), Wilmots, Nilis COACH: Georges Leekens			SOUTH KOREA Kim B.J. Lee S.H. (Jang H.S. 66’), Hong M.B., Kim T.Y., Yoo S.C. (c) Choi S.Y. (Lee L.S. 46’), Lee M.S., Kim D.K. (Ko J.S. 46’), Ha S.J. Choi Y.S., Su J.W. COACH: Kim Pyung-seok
GAME SUMMARY Belgium needed to win this game and hope that Holland did the same in the other group match against Mexico to qualify, and they had a dreamy start when Nilis scored with a hard low shot after a corner. The Belgians then missed a number of chances to double their lead, especially when Nilis, prominent throughout, skillfully turned a man and shot against the bar. But the veteran Belgian team ran out of gas again in the second half, and Yoo Sang-chul escaped all marking to slide in and volley home a free kick from Ha Suk-joo. The last fifteen minutes of the game were a siege, the South Koreans throwing their bodies in the way of the ball, as if the draw mattered to them. With the final whistle, Belgium joined the group of teams eliminated from the World Cup withouth losing a match, but surely few were sorry to see them go.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 25-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 39.000 REFEREE: Gamal el-Ghandour (EGY) GOALS: 0-1 (Komljenović 4’)
		USA - Yugoslavia
		0-1 (0-1)
USA Friedel Burns, Dooley (c) (Balboa 81’), Régis Hejduk (Wynalda 64’), Stewart, Reyna, Cobi Jones, Maisonneuve McBride, Moore (Preki 58’) COACH: Steve Sampson			YUGOSLAVIA Kralj Jokanović, Komljenović, Đorović, Mihajlović, Petrović Stanković (Brnović 54’), Jugović, Stojković (c) (Savićević 62’) Mijatović (Ognjenović 30’), Milošević COACH: Slobodan Santrač
GAME SUMMARY The USA hit a post again, this time through Hejduk’s aimless cross after only twenty seconds, but once Mihajlović took another free kick they were already in trouble. The defender’s shot went round a poorly placed wall, Friedel pushed it away, and Komljenović headed in gently from a narrow angle. Savićević, once an influential player at AC Milan, came on in the second half, but it was all too obvious that he wasn’t fully fit after recovering from an injury.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 25-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Epifanio González Chávez (PAR) GOALS: 1-0 (Bierhoff 50’); 2-0 (Klinsmann 57’)
		Germany - Iran
		2-0 (0-0)
GERMANY Köpke Kohler, Thon (Hamann 46’), Wörns Heinrich, Häßler (Kirsten 69’), Matthäus, Helmer, Tarnat (Ziege 76’) Bierhoff, Klinsmann (c) COACH: Berti Vogts			IRAN Abedzadeh (c) Khakpour, Mohammadkhani, Pashazadeh, Minavand Mahdavikia, Zarincheh (Dinmohammadi 70’), Bagheri, Estili Ali Daei, Azizi COACH: Jalal Talebi
GAME SUMMARY The Germans came into the match with an average age of 31 years and 328 days, a record in the World Cup finals. Germany didn’t have a single really good chance in the first half, but Iran didn’t make one in the whole match. After halftime, Bierhoff pounded in another header from Häßler’s right-wing cross, then volleyed against the post for Klinsmann to throw himself forward and head into an empty net. Helmer was rough in his marking on Mahdavikia, and Ali Daei looked timid once more. Matthäus was brilliant when he reverted to his natural position of sweeper in place of Thon, but the question of age in the German squad looked likely to resurface against stronger opposition.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 26-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 36.500 REFEREE: Saïd Belqola (MOR) GOALS: 1-0 (Pineda 36’)
		Argentina - Croatia
		1-0 (1-0)
ARGENTINA Roa Vivas, Ayala, Almeyda, Pablo Paz Zanetti (Simeone 67’), Verón, Pineda, Gallardo (Berti 80’) Ortega (Claudio López 52’), Batistuta (c) COACH: Daniel Passarella			CROATIA Ladić Bilić, Soldo, Šimić, Jarni Marić (Vlaović 46’), Boban (c), Prosinečki (Štimac 67’), Asanović Stanić, Šuker COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY With both teams already qualified, the game between Argentina and Croatia had more skill than thrill. As a result, neither Batistuta nor Šuker had a single half-chance in the whole match. After a first half-hour completely devoid of incidents, Ortega’s chip set Pineda free to chest the ball down before volleying inside the near post as the keeper came out. Once again, the hard pitch (a constant in this World Cup) made the players suffer from blistered feet (in this case Štimac).

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 26-06-1998 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 43.500 REFEREE: Günter Benkö (AUT) GOALS: 0-1 (Whitmore 39’); 0-2 (Whitmore 54’); 1-2 (Nakayama 74’) [Incidents: The Japanese head coach resigned after the game.]
		Japan - Jamaica
		1-2 (0-1)
JAPAN Kawaguchi Narahashi, Soma, Ihara (c), Jo (Lopes 58’) Akita, Nanami (Ono 78’), Nakayama, Nakata Yamaguchi, Omura (Hirano 58’) COACH: Takeshi Okada			JAMAICA Lawrence Goodison (c), Gardner, Sinclair, Malcolm Dawes, Whitmore, Simpson (Earle 90+’), Lowe Hall (Boyd 72’), Gayle (Burton 80’) COACH: Renê Simões
GAME SUMMARY In the battle of the makeweights, Jamaica took the lead before halftime when Gayle headed on a long ball for Whitmore to shoot low past the keeper’s right hand. In the second half, Whitmore scored his second goal by cutting back onto his left foot when Simpson’s through-ball set him free on the right. Narahashi sidefooted a deep cross against the far post before Soma’s long cross was met by a Lopes header which seemed to be aimed at goal but fell square for Nakayama, completely unmarked, to touch into the empty net.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 26-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 41.275 REFEREE: Arturo Brizio Carter (MEX) GOALS: 0-1 (Anderton 20’); 0-2 (Beckham 29’)
		Colombia - England
		0-2 (0-2)
COLOMBIA Mondragón Cabrera, Bermúdez, Palacios, Moreno Serna (Ricard 46’), Valderrama (c), Lozano, Rincón Preciado (Valencia 46’), De Ávila (Aristizábal 46’) COACH: Hernán Gómez			ENGLAND Seaman Neville, Adams, Campbell Anderton (Lee 79’), Beckham, Ince (Batty 83’), Le Saux Owen, Shearer (c), Scholes (McManaman 73’) COACH: Glenn Hoddle
GAME SUMMARY England and Colombia were playing for a place in the next round, and the nerves were evident in the players. Less than two minutes into the game, Seaman hit a goal kick straight to Preciado, who couldn’t control it. Colombia stoked the tension by keeping the ball well early on, but England were never in real danger. When Moreno, who had a dreadful night, slipped and lost the ball, Owen’s cross was headed back by Bermúdez to the right, where Anderton controlled the ball, took one step, and volleyed into the roof of the net at the near post. Then Beckham made the second with a 30-meter free kick. Owen’s sheer speed was a weapon in itself, but he often looked raw. Put completely clear by an instant pass from Shearer, he had time to do better than hit the ball straight at the keeper. But England were so comfortable at the back that Campbell felt free to come forward in a run that took him past three players.

GROUP STAGE
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 26-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 80.000 REFEREE: Edward Lennie (AUS) GOALS: 0-1 (Souayah [p.] 10’); 1-1 (Moldovan 72’) [Incidents: Tunisia’s assistant coach, , Ali el-Selmi, took over after the Polish head coach Henryk Kasperczak was dismissed following a 1-0 defeat against Colombia. All the Romanian players dyed their hair blonde (except the balding Stelea) as a promise they made if they qualified as group winners (although it wasn’t something for sure before the game).]
		Romania - Tunisia
		1-1 (0-1)
ROMANIA Stelea Petrescu, Dulca (Gică Popescu 32’), Doboş, Ciobotariu Gâlcă, Munteanu, Hagi (c), Marinescu Dumitrescu (Moldovan 68’), Lăcătuş (Ilie 46’) COACH: Anghel lordănescu			TUNISIA El-Ouaer (c) S. Trabelsi, Bouqadida, Chouchane, Bouazizi Baya, Ghodhbane (Thabet 85’), Chihi, Souayah (Ben Younes 90+’) Sellimi, Ben Slimane (Jelassi 55') COACH: Ali el-Selmi
GAME SUMMARY Romania were so light-hearted before the game, having ensured their qualification as virtual group winners, that the coach and the entire squad (except the shaven-headed Stelea) dyed their hair yellow. With some of their first-choice players rested, Romania struggled to recover from an early Tunisian goal, when Souayah converted a penalty awarded as Dulca brought down Sellimi. Eventually, with the first place in the group under threat, Ilie’s lob volley took out the keeper, and Chouchane’s desperate backheader only reached Moldovan, who volleyed in for the equalizer.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 27-06-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 60.000 REFEREE: Bernd Heynemann (GER) GOALS: 1-0 (Vieri 18’) BOOKED: Moriero (38'), Di Biagio (84'), Maldini (89') / H. Flo (35'), Mykland (54'), Rekdal (62')
		Italy - Norway
		1-0 (1-0)
ITALY Pagliuca Bergomi, Costacurta, Cannavaro, Maldini (c) Moriero (Di Livio 63’), Albertini (Pessotto 73’), Di Biagio, D. Baggio Del Piero (Chiesa 78’), Vieri COACH: Cesare Maldini			NORWAY Grodås (c) Berg, Eggen, Johnsen, Bjørnebye Mykland, Riseth, Rekdal, Leonhardsen (Strand 13’ (Solbakken 38’)) T.A. Flo, H. Flo (Solskjær 73’) COACH: Egil Olsen
GAME SUMMARY This was the first finals match played under the new “Golden Goal” rule, but Italy didn’t need it to qualify. Di Biagio, in charge throughout, hit some excellent passes, including the one which sent Vieri away between two defenders to shoot low across the keeper for the only goal of the game. With the bearded little Mykland having another unproductive match, Italy should have killed the game off earlier, avoiding a scrappy last half-hour. Del Piero showed some good touches, but his shooting lacked snap. At the other end, Cannavaro had a good defense on Tore André Flo, and when the towering Norwegian attacker for once made his height tell, Pagliuca was there to save his header.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 27-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 48.500 REFEREE: Marc Batta (FRA) GOALS: 1-0 (César Sampaio 11’); 2-0 (César Sampaio 27’); 3-0 (Ronaldo [p.] 45+’); 3-1 (Salas 68’); 4-1 (Ronaldo 70’) BOOKED: Leonardo (45'), Cafu (90+') / Fuentes (34'), Tapia (45')
		Brazil - Chile
		4-1 (3-0)
BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Júnior Baiano, Aldair (Gonçalves 77’), Roberto Carlos Leonardo, César Sampaio, Dunga (c), Rivaldo Bebeto (Denílson 65’), Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo			CHILE Tapia Reyes, Fuentes, Margas, Miguel Ramírez (Vega 46’) Cornejo, Acuña (Musrri 80’), Sierra (Estay 46’), Aros Zamorano (c), Salas COACH: Nelson Acosta
GAME SUMMARY The scoreline doesn’t tell the real story of this match, as Chile didn’t give up the fight during all the game and Brazil, with Leonardo and Roberto Carlos looking out of place again, scored from the first two chances they made. Chile had no width and only three attacking players, and, in spite of the constant challenging of Zamorano, they were outgunned by the Brazilians. César Sampaio opened the score with a header and then made the second by pushing in a ground shot after a deflection. Ronaldo hit the post and bar as well as scoring twice. Tapia could have been sent off for bringing him down for the penalty before halftime. In the second half, Salas pulled one back for Chile with a header, after Taffarel had blocked a ball with his chest, but almost immediately Ronaldo put the match beyond contest after he waited for the keeper to move before coolly shooting across him. A fabulous run by Rivaldo, in which he beat three men before hitting a superb angled pass, ended with Júnior Baiano almost treading on the ball with only the keeper to beat. In injury time, Taffarel saved a free kick to deny Zamorano the goal he deserved.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Félix Bollaert (Lens) DATE: 28-06-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 41.275 REFEREE: Ali Mohammed Bujsaim (UAE) GOALS: 1-0 (Blanc [Golden Goal] 113’) BOOKED: Chilavert (19'), Benítez (23'), Enciso (32'), Arce (84'), A. Rojas (99')
		France - Paraguay
		1-0 (0-0;0-0)
FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu Djorkaeff, Deschamps (c), Petit (Boghossian 69’) Henry (Pirès 64’), Trézéguet, Diomède (Guivarc'h 76’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			PARAGUAY Chilavert (c) Gamarra, Ayala, Sarabia Arce, Acuña, Paredes (Caniza 74’), Enciso, Campos (Yegros 55’) Benítez, Cardozo (A. Rojas 91’) COACH: Paulo César Carpeggiani
GAME SUMMARY Paraguay did what they do best, defend in depth, and did it supremely well, especially Gamarra, one of the best central defenders of the tournament. The Paraguayan man-for-man marking frustrated France, who missed Zidane terribly, as Deschamps was no replacement for him as playmaker and Diomède wasn’t the answer up front. Djorkaeff looked short of confidence, and Petit’s thigh problems were aggravated by the hard pitches of the tournament. Paraguay were able to hold out into extra-time, though they were relieved when Henry hit a post after outstripping the defense. The second half substitutions led to waves of French attacks, virtually a siege, but there was no real improvement. Finally, in extra-time, Trézéguet’s cushioned header was met by Blanc’s volley for the first “Golden Goal” in the history of the World Cup. The game was over at that moment and France qualified for the next round.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 28-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 79.500 REFEREE: Urs Meier (SWI) GOALS: 0-1 (Møller 3’); 0-2 (B. Laudrup 12’); 0-3 (Sand 60’); 0-4 (Helveg 76’); 1-4 (Babangida 78’) BOOKED: Okocha (49') / Rieper (24')
		Nigeria - Denmark
		1-4 (0-2)
NIGERIA Rufai Mutiu, Uche (c), West, Babayaro Finidi, Oliseh, Okocha, Lawal (Babangida 73’) Ikpeba, Kanu (Yekini 65’) COACH: Bora Milutinović			DENMARK Schmeichel Colding, Rieper, Høgh, Heintze Jørgensen, Helveg, M. Laudrup (c) (Frandsen 84’), Nielsen B. Laudrup (Wieghorst 78’), Møller (Sand 59’) COACH: Bo Johansson
GAME SUMMARY Denmark, very unimpressive so far, were expected to lose to a more talented side, but instead exposed the tactical weaknesses of Nigeria. The early goals settled the match. Jørgensen’s excellent pass set Michael Laudrup free to flick the ball square toward the hefty Møller, who drove a confident left-footer inside the near post. Then Møller’s free kick crossed the wall under the jumping Okocha, Rufai failed to block the ball and Brian Laudrup smacked in the rebound. After that, one-way traffic toward the Danish goal, but in the second half the third goal killed Nigeria off. Again Michael Laudrup was involved, breaking a tackle and scooping the ball forward for Sand to head sideways away from West and half-volley in, less than half a minute after coming on. Then Rufai couldn’t hold Jørgensen’s shot and the ball found its way to Helveg, who smacked it high into the net. Nigeria could only score a consolation goal when Babangida’s volley beat Schmeichel’s outstretched foot at the near post.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) DATE: 29-06-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.000 REFEREE: Vítor Manuel Melo Pereira (POR) GOALS: 0-1 (Hernández 47’); 1-1 (Klinsmann 75’); 2-1 (Bierhoff 86’) BOOKED: Babbel (45+'), Matthäus (56'), Tarnat (77'), Hamann (88') / Davino (57'), Blanco (87')
		Germany - Mexico
		2-1 (0-0)
GERMANY Köpke Heinrich (Möller 58’), Matthäus, Wörns Babbel, Helmer (Ziege 38’), Häßler (Kirsten 74’), Hamann, Tarnat Bierhoff, Klinsmann (c) COACH: Berti Vogts			MEXICO Campos Pardo, Suárez, Lara, Davino, Villa Palencia (Arellano 53’), Bernal (Carmona 46’), G. Aspe (c) (Peláez 86’) Hernández, Blanco COACH: Manuel Lapuente
GAME SUMMARY Having come from behind in every match so far, Mexico made the mistake of taking the lead for the first time. Hernández, not altogether convincing despite his goals, kept marvellously cool in the penalty area to score, working his way round Tarnat and biding his time before shooting across Köpke. On yet another hot day, the German midfield lacked flair and missed the drive of Jeremies. Nevertheless they could have had a penalty for a late tackle by Suárez on Helmer, and Bierhoff should have done better than head Häßler’s cross against the bar. It is also true that Germany would have gone 2-0 down but for two vital saves by Köpke, once when Blanco set up an easy chance for Hernández. But in the end, to no-one’s surprise, came the traditional German comeback, although it owed much to poor Lara, who let Bierhoff’s back-header squirt out behind him for Klinsmann to slide in and score, then was beaten to a cross by Bierhoff, who put another uncompromising header high into the net.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade Municipal (Toulouse) DATE: 29-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 37.500 REFEREE: José María García-Aranda (SPA) GOALS: 1-0 (Bergkamp 38’); 1-1 (Komljenović 48’); 2-1 (Davids 90+’) BOOKED: Stojković (38'), Mirković (52'), Đorović (73') [Incidents: Mijatović missed a penalty shot (min. 51).]
		Netherlands - Yugoslavia
		2-1 (1-0)
NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Reiziger, Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan R. de Boer, Seedorf, Davids, Overmars Bergkamp, Cocu COACH: Guus Hiddink			YUGOSLAVIA Kralj Mirković, Đorović, Mihajlović (Saveljić 78’), Komljenović Petrović, Jokanović, Stojković (c) (Savićević 57’), Brnović, Jugović Mijatović COACH: Slobodan Santrač
GAME SUMMARY Considering the talent on both sides, Yugoslavia’s defensive attitude made the game scrappier than it should have been. Mihajlović was impressive throughout, but Frank de Boer’s excellent left foot sent a long ball down the inside-left channel, and Bergkamp pushed Mirković to the ground before shooting in at the near post under a goalkeeper who should have done better. Again Stojković was off-pace, although he made the equalizer when his free kick, curled high to the far post, was met by Komljenović’s header. The match turned on two incidents soon afterward, and each time Yugoslavia lost out. First Stam held on to Jugović’s shirt to give away a penalty. Mijatović, who six weeks earlier had looked as one of the sharpest strikers in Europe when he scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League final, was having a very discrete tournament so far. Now that his big chance came, he blasted the penalty shot against the bar. Almost immediately, Bergkamp should have been sent off for pushing Mihajlović over and treading on his ribs. Instead, Holland were at full strength in the last minutes of the game, when a series of corners led to their very late winner, the ball eventually coming back to Davids, whose low left-footer touched Đorović on its way in.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) DATE: 30-06-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 34.700 REFEREE: Javier Alberto Castrilli (ARG) GOALS: 0-1 (Šuker [p.] 45+’) BOOKED: Gică Popescu (43'), Petrescu (70'), Ilie (81') / Boban (27'), Bilić (70')
		Romania - Croatia
		0-1 (0-1)
ROMANIA Stelea Petrescu (Marinescu 76’), Ciobotariu, Gică Popescu, Filipescu Gâlcă, Ga.Popescu(Niculescu 61’), Hagi(c)(Craioveanu 56’), Munteanu Moldovan, Ilie COACH: Anghel lordănescu			CROATIA Ladić Stanić (Tudor 83’), Bilić, Štimac, Jarni Šimić, Boban (c), Asanović, Jurčić Šuker, Vlaović (Krpan 76’) COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY The only goal of the game came following a harshly awarded penalty just before halftime, after Asanović had twisted away from Gabi Popescu. Šuker scored on second attempt, after his first kick had to be retaken, each time hitting it low to the keeper’s left. Like other teams in this round, Romania were exposed for their lack of bite. Croatia were able to sit back and defend without much trouble in the second half, easily absorbing the little that Hagi had to offer at this stage of his career.

1/8 FINAL
STADIUM: Geoffroy Guichard (Saint-Étienne) DATE: 30-06-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Kim Milton Nielsen (DEN) GOALS: 1-0 (Batistuta [p.] 6’); 1-1 (Shearer [p.] 10’); 1-2 (Owen 16’); 2-2 (Zanetti 45+’) BOOKED: Verón (44'), Simeone (47'), Almeyda (73'), Roa (110') / Seaman (5'), Ince (10'), Beckham (RC 47') PK: 1-0 (Berti); 1-1 (Shearer) / 1-1 (Crespo [saved]); 1-1 (Ince [saved]) / 2-1 (Verón); 2-2 (Merson) / 3-2 (Gallardo); 3-3 (Owen) / 4-3 (Ayala); 4-3 (Batty [saved]) [Incidents: Beckham was sent off (min. 47).]
		Argentina - England
		2-2 (2-2;2-2) (pk: 4-3)
ARGENTINA Roa Vivas, Ayala, Chamot Zanetti, Almeyda, Simeone (c) (Berti 91’), Verón, Ortega Claudio López (Gallardo 68’), Batistuta (Crespo 68’) COACH: Daniel Passarella			ENGLAND Seaman Neville, Adams, Campbell Anderton (Batty 97’), Ince, Beckham, Scholes (Merson 78’) Owen, Shearer (c), Le Saux (Southgate 71’) COACH: Glenn Hoddle
GAME SUMMARY In a very eventful first half, Argentina opened the score when Seaman arrived late on Simeone in the area and conceded a penalty which Batistuta converted. Owen charged into Ayala to earn another penalty and allow Shearer to equalize. Then the little English attacker gave the lead to England with a brilliant goal: taking Beckham’s pass, Owen outpaced Chamot, swerved past the last defender and finished with a high shot across the keeper. Seven minutes from halftime, England missed their chance to settle the match there and then when Scholes arrived at speed to meet Shearer’s back-header with a low left-footer that went just wide of the far post. Instead, in injury time, Argentina equalized with an expertly-worked free kick: Batistuta ran over the ball, Verón pushed it to the right of the wall, and Zanetti emerged from behind it to shoot left-footed beyond Seaman. Right after halftime, Simeone barged Beckham from behind and appeared to tread on him as he lay prone. The English player responded with a flick on his leg, slightly catching Simeone on the calf, but he was so unfortunate as to do it in front of Nielsen, and Simeone’s acting did the rest: red card to Beckham, whose absence pushed England into all-out defense just when Owen was giving them an option at the other end. Campbell, colossal in every sense, headed in from a corner with nine minutes left, but his goal was disallowed because Shearer had used an elbow on the keeper’s head. Campbell’s face was a picture: rapture followed by panic as Argentina charged down the other end and almost scored while England were still celebrating. In extra-time, the referee ignored Chamot’s unintentional handball as he jumped with Shearer in the penalty area. Following the agonies of World Cup 1990 and Eurocup 1996, the penalty shoot-out went the way most English fans feared it would, even after Seaman had saved Argentina’s second kick. While England were let down again blaming their bad luck, Argentina won a World Cup shoot-out for the third time out of three, matching West Germany’s record.

1/4 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 3-07-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 77.000 REFEREE: Hugh Dallas (SCO) GOALS: - BOOKED: Del Piero (26'), Bergomi (28'), Costacurta (113') / Guivarc'h (53'), Deschamps (62') PK: 0-1 (Zidane); 1-1 (R. Baggio) / 1-1 (Lizarazu [saved]); 1-1 (Albertini [saved]) / 1-2 (Trézéguet); 2-2 (Costacurta) / 2-3 (Henry); 3-3 (Vieri) / 3-4 (Blanc); 3-4 (Di Biagio [out])
		Italy - France
		0-0 (0-0;0-0) (pk: 3-4)
ITALY Pagliuca Cannavaro, Bergomi, Costacurta, Maldini (c) Moriero, D. Baggio (Albertini 52’), Pessotto (Di Livio 90’), Di Biagio Vieri, Del Piero (R. Baggio 67’) COACH: Cesare Maldini			FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu Karembeu (Trézéguet 65’), Deschamps (c), Petit, Zidane, Djorkaeff Guivarc'h (Henry 65’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet
GAME SUMMARY After a two-game suspension, Zidane was back, and that was good news for France. The Italians, who knew all about him from Serie A, were even more defensive than usual, and the French were better going forward. However, both sides lacked a finisher against hard defenses. Desailly cancelled Vieri, Costacurta and Cannavaro did well, and Maldini was still the best left-back in the world. Guivarc'h was Jacquet’s latest attempt to solve the French problem up front, but his main contribution was an elbow in the face of Cannavaro which forced the Italian defender to wear a net dressing to keep an eye patch in place. Moriero, a skillful wide player, was another disappointment. Roberto Baggio came close to pilfering a win in extra-time when his lob passed just wide of the far post. In the penalty shoot-out, as so often in these cases, the decisive kick was missed by one of the losing side’s best players, Di Biagio. Italy set a finals record by going out on penalties for the third time in a row.

1/4 FINAL
STADIUM: La Beaujoire (Nantes) DATE: 3-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 35.500 REFEREE: Gamal el-Ghandour (EGY) GOALS: 0-1 (Jørgensen 2’); 1-1 (Bebeto 11’); 2-1 (Rivaldo 27’); 2-2 (B. Laudrup 50’); 3-2 (Rivaldo 60’) BOOKED: Roberto Carlos (11'), Aldair (37'), Cafu (81') / Helveg (19'), Colding (39'), Tøfting (72')
		Brazil - Denmark
		3-2 (2-1)
BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Aldair, Júnior Baiano, Roberto Carlos César Sampaio, Dunga (c), Leonardo (Émerson 72’) Bebeto (Denílson 64’), Ronaldo, Rivaldo (Zé Roberto 87’) COACH: Mário Zagallo			DENMARK Schmeichel Colding, Rieper, Høgh, Heintze Jørgensen,Nielsen(Tøfting 46’),Helveg(Schjønberg 87’),M.Laudrup(c) B. Laudrup, Møller (Sand 67’) COACH: Bo Johansson
GAME SUMMARY Once again, Denmark scored very early on, the Laudrups combining at a free kick to set up Jørgensen for the opener. But this time the opposition wasn’t as brittle as they might have hoped. Brazil always seemed to have another gear, and a superb angled pass by Ronaldo set Bebeto free to run through the middle and shoot low across Schmeichel, who’d come out as far as the penalty spot. As with other successful teams in the tournament, Brazil and Denmark stationed a holding player in front of the back four. One of them (Helveg) allowed the other (Dunga) to rob him the ball, and a short pass to Ronaldo was followed by another which put Rivaldo clear to chip the ball over the diving keeper. But Denmark kept playing their game and passing the ball, confident of their style and the well-known defensive weakness of Brazil. After halftime, Roberto Carlos, who had again tested everyone’s patience with some preposterous long-range free kicks, presented the ball to Brian Laudrup with a missed overhead kick, and the Danish attacker half-volleyed it into the roof of the net. But Brazil took the lead again when Rivaldo ran unchallenged through the middle to score with an accurate ground shot just inside the far post. Even then Denmark didn’t give up. An outstanding move involving Helveg, Sand and Rieper nearly brought another equalizer, as did Rieper’s last-minute header against the bar. The Danes, not with one of their best teams in history but one that never stopped playing football true to their style, had come close after progressing further than ever before. It was also the end of Michael Laudrup’s international career.

1/4 FINAL
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 4-07-1998 (16:30 h) ATTENDANCE: 55.000 REFEREE: Arturo Brizio Carter (MEX) GOALS: 1-0 (Kluivert 12’); 1-1 (Claudio López 17’); 2-1 (Bergkamp 89’) BOOKED: Stam (10'), Numan (17'), Numan (76' > RC) / Chamot (22'), Sensini (60'), Ortega (RC 87') [Incidents: Numan (min. 76) and Ortega (min. 87) were both sent off.]
		Netherlands - Argentina
		2-1 (1-1)
NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Reiziger, Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan R. de Boer (Overmars 64’), Jonk, Davids, Cocu Bergkamp, Kluivert COACH: Guus Hiddink			ARGENTINA Roa Zanetti, Ayala, Sensini, Chamot (Balbo 90’) Simeone (c), Almeyda (Pineda 67’), Verón, Ortega Claudio López, Batistuta COACH: Daniel Passarella
GAME SUMMARY Although it wasn’t quite regarded as a classic at the time, this was one of the great World Cup matches, full of deluxe ball control and invention. The first half was eventful, with Jonk, Ortega and Batistuta all hitting a post. The first Dutch goal was beautifully made and finished. Ronald de Boer swerved past Batistuta and drilled the ball to the left, where Bergkamp fell back in executing a velvety header across goal, ushering Kluivert in to touch the ball across the diving Roa. But the sinewy Verón, one of the playmakers of the tournament, sent a long pass to Claudio López, who sprang the offside trap, hesitated for a second, then rolled the ball under the keeper’s leg for Argentina’s 100th finals goal. “Piojo” López, as indicated by his nickname (louse, small and annoying for defenses), was a constant menace, but Batistuta again failed to prove his class against strong opposition, in this case under the close marking of Stam. The Dutch dominated possession in the second half, but Argentina were always dangerous on the break. Numan was sent off for a second bookable offence, a hard late tackle that put Simeone on a stretcher. Near the end Ortega, contained by Davids during all the game, was about to be shown a yellow card for diving when the referee changed it to red after he brushed Van der Sar’s chin with his head as he got up. So it was equal numbers again, and Netherland grabbed the late winner with another magnificent goal: Frank de Boer sent a pass into the right-hand side of the area, where Bergkamp brought it down, turned sweetly inside Ayala and volleyed high across the keeper.

1/4 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de Gerland (Lyon) DATE: 4-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 39.100 REFEREE: Rune Pedersen (NOR) GOALS: 0-1 (Jarni 45+’); 0-2 (Vlaović 80’); 0-3 (Šuker 85’) BOOKED: Heinrich (18'), Tarnat (37'), Wörns (RC 40') / Stanić (14'), Šimić (16'), Šuker (57') [Incidents: Wörns was sent off (min. 40).]
		Germany - Croatia
		0-3 (0-1)
GERMANY Köpke Heinrich, Wörns, Matthäus, Kohler Hamann (Marschall 79’), Jeremies, Häßler (Kirsten 69’), Tarnat Bierhoff, Klinsmann (c) COACH: Berti Vogts			CROATIA Ladić Bilić, Štimac, Šimić Stanić, Soldo, Jarni, Boban (c), Asanović Šuker, Vlaović (Marić 83’) COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY This time Germany couldn’t extend their tradition of incredible comebacks in the World Cup, as their veteran players were exposed by a fresh and inventive Croatian team. Wörns’ sending-off for a late tackle on Šuker was a serious handicap for a team with ageing legs, and Croatia’s opener deep into first-half injury time, a low cross-shot by Jarni from outside the penalty area, killed Germany off. In the second half Jeremies was all willingness and lung power, and his teammates showed great courage, but they lacked creativity and luck (as when Hamann’s fierce deflected shot hit a post). Bierhoff, battered by Šimić and Štimac, was nevertheless dominant in the air again, but the usually lethal Klinsmann missed his scarce chances and couldn’t get into the match (his last for Germany). Near the end, after the Germans had used up all their energy, Vlaović killed the game with a low cross-shot from the right, and Šuker even scored with his right foot after cutting inside Heinrich.

1/2 FINAL
STADIUM: Vélodrome (Marseille) DATE: 7-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 54.000 REFEREE: Ali Mohammed Bujsaim (UAE) GOALS: 1-0 (Ronaldo 46’); 1-1 (Kluivert 87’) BOOKED: Zé Carlos (31'), César Sampaio (45') / Reiziger (48'), Davids (60'), Van Hooijdonk (90'), Seedorf (119') PK: 1-0 (Ronaldo); 1-1 (F. de Boer) / 2-1 (Rivaldo); 2-2 (Bergkamp) / 3-2 (Émerson); 3-2 (Cocu [saved]) / 4-2 (Dunga); 4-2 (R. de Boer [saved])
		Brazil - Netherlands
		1-1 (0-0;1-1) (pk: 4-2)
BRAZIL Taffarel Zé Carlos, Júnior Baiano, Aldair, Roberto Carlos Dunga (c), César Sampaio, Leonardo (Émerson 85’), Rivaldo Bebeto (Denílson 70’), Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo			NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Reiziger (Winter 56’), Stam, F. de Boer (c), Cocu R. de Boer, Jonk (Seedorf 111’), Davids, Zenden (Van Hooijdonk 75’) Bergkamp, Kluivert COACH: Guus Hiddink
GAME SUMMARY Immediately after a cautious first half, Rivaldo’s long ball found Ronaldo unmarked in the inside-left channel, and his left-foot shot went in under Van der Sar’s legs. This goal seemed to stop the Dutch in their tracks, and it took them a long time getting back into it, partly because Dunga was doing another expert covering job, partly because Overmars hadn’t recovered from injury, so Roberto Carlos was spared a serious examination against pace and was free to come forward as he liked. The Brazilian left back hit some dangerous crosses and another of his impossible distant free kicks from 40 meters (which went all the way along the ground into the keeper’s arms). On the other flank, little Zé Carlos made a bad start to his international career, regularly beaten by Zenden (hard to understand why Holland didn’t attack him more in the second half). Davids saved the second Brazilian goal as he got a toe in from behind when Ronaldo was clean through and a goal looked certain. At the other end, Kluivert should probably have scored when Van Hooijdonk’s return ball sent him clear, but he eventually got the headed goal he deserved, climbing way above the defense to attack Ronald de Boer’s cross, just reward for his class and persistence. Brazil created the better chances in extra-time, two wasted by Roberto Carlos, one saved by Frank de Boer (superb throughout), who made a wonderful saving tackle between Ronaldo’s legs. Another of his long passes gave Kluivert a chance, and Stam was solid in defense, but Holland were missing terribly the usual display of Bergkamp, kept at bay by a pack of defenders on the edge of the area. By then the Dutch probably suspected they needed to settle the game before the dreaded shoot-out. They’ve never won one, so it was no great surprise when Taffarel, winning his 100th cap, saved two of their kicks and Brazil qualified for the final.

1/2 FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis , Paris) DATE: 8-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 76.000 REFEREE: José María García-Aranda (SPA) GOALS: 0-1 (Šuker 46’); 1-1 (Thuram 47’); 2-1 (Thuram 69’) BOOKED: Blanc (RC 74') / Asanović (45'), Stanić (75'), Šimić (88') [Incidents: Blanc was sent off (min. 74).]
		France - Croatia
		2-1 (0-0)
FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu Deschamps (c), Karembeu (Henry 30’), Petit, Zidane Djorkaeff (Leboeuf 75’), Guivarc'h (Trézéguet 69’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			CROATIA Ladić Bilić, Štimac, Šimić Stanić (Prosinečki 89’), Soldo, Boban (c) (Marić 65’), Asanović, Jarni Vlaović, Šuker COACH: Miroslav Blažević
GAME SUMMARY A similar story to the first semifinal: both teams played a rather dull first half and left everything for an eventful second half. Thirty seconds after halftime, Asanović’s classy angled pass sent Šuker clear to toe the ball firmly under Barthez, the only goal France conceded in open play in the competition. Unfortunately for Croatia, they couldn’t keep their advantage for too long, against a French team struggling for goals who would have had the additional pressure of playing home as heavy favorites. Just one minute after the Croatian opener, Boban loitered near his own penalty area, giving Thuram time to rob him and take a return pass from Djorkaeff before shooting across Ladić. Then Thuram again edged Jarni off the ball before scoring with his left foot from the corner of the penalty area. In a poor match in general, Zidane disappeared in the second half (as he sometimes did in the big occasions). Just when France seemed to be in control of the game and had qualification at hand, Blanc earned a stupid red card for flicking Bilić on the chin, and the Croatian defender disgracefully reacted by collapsing with a hand to his eye. But Croatia didn’t have the drive to overturn the score, and France qualified for the final dreamed by the organizers.

PLACES 3-4
STADIUM: Parc des Princes (Paris) DATE: 11-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 45.500 REFEREE: Epifanio González Chávez (PAR) GOALS: 1-0 (Prosinečki 13’); 1-1 (Zenden 21’); 2-1 (Šuker 35’) BOOKED: Jurčić (34'), Štimac (52'), Asanović (69'), Stanić (74') / Davids (89'), Jonk (89')
		Croatia - Netherlands
		2-1 (2-1)
CROATIA Ladić Bilić, Štimac, Soldo Stanić, Prosinečki (Vlaović 78’), Jurčić, Asanović, Jarni Boban (c) (Tudor 86’), Šuker COACH: Miroslav Blažević			NETHERLANDS Van der Sar Stam, F. de Boer (c), Numan Zenden, Seedorf, Jonk, Davids, Cocu (Overmars 46’) Bergkamp (Van Hooijdonk 58’), Kluivert COACH: Guus Hiddink
GAME SUMMARY In the consolation final that no-one wants to play, Croatia took the early lead when Jarni cut in from the left, Prosinečki took his square pass and then turned Numan before scoring with a low cross-shot. Later on Zenden held off Jarni in a run inside before hitting a convulsive left-footer for the equalizer. Croatia retook the lead when Šuker’s first-time ground shot wrong-footed Van der Sar. Miroslav Blažević’s team were widely praised for finishing third on their finals debut, but they might have done even better if the injured Alen Bokšić had been there as a support striker. As it was, Šuker received the consolation prize of tournament’s top scorer, with six goals.

FINAL
STADIUM: Stade de France (Saint-Denis, Paris) DATE: 12-07-1998 (21:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 75.000 REFEREE: Saïd Belqola (MOR) GOALS: 1-0 (Zidane 27’); 2-0 (Zidane 45+’); 3-0 (Petit 90+’) BOOKED: Deschamps (39’), Desailly (48’), Karembeu (56’), Desailly (68’ > RC) / Júnior Baiano (33’) [Incidents: Desailly was sent off after a second bookable offense (min. 68).]
		France - Brazil
		3-0 (2-0)
FRANCE Barthez Thuram, Leboeuf, Desailly, Lizarazu Karembeu (Boghossian 57’), Deschamps (c), Petit, Zidane Djorkaeff (Vieira 75’), Guivarc'h (Dugarry 66’) COACH: Aimé Jacquet			BRAZIL Taffarel Cafu, Júnior Baiano, Aldair, Roberto Carlos Leonardo(Denílson 46’), Dunga(c), C.Sampaio(Edmundo 75’), Rivaldo Bebeto, Ronaldo COACH: Mário Zagallo
GAME SUMMARY The stage was all set at Saint-Denis for France, the home team, against Brazil, title holders and favorites. But the World Cup showdown between Ronaldo’s attacking skills and the strong French defense simply wasn’t one. Theories behind the pre-match collapse of the Brazilian star ranged from an epileptic fit (through overdoses of painkillers throughout the tournament) to allegations of interference in the team affairs by Nike, the Brazilian federation’s sponsor, who had demanded that Ronaldo played the final at any cost. The joke in Brazil was that “to bear Roberto Carlos in the same room for 53 days was too much for him”. The feisty Edmundo was originally included in the Brazilian line-up, only for Ronaldo to arrive at the stadium with less than one hour to spare. The effect on the team’s morale was all too obvious. As a result, France were never in real danger, and would have won the final by an unthinkable margin if they had taken their chances. Guivarc'h should have scored in the first few minutes when sent clear on goal, then sliced the ball high and wide when Cafu’s back pass fell short. His replacement Dugarry also missed in the second half when clean through, but his team could afford it by then. After a poor control by Roberto Carlos conceded a corner for France, Petit hit it from the right to the near post, where Zidane attacked it like a hammerhead to score the first goal. Then Júnior Baiano misjudged a ball and set Guivarc'h clear in front of Taffarel, who responded with a gallant one-handed save. But almost at once, just before the break, another inswinging corner to the near post from Djorkaeff (this time from the left) was also met by Zidane’s downward header. Brazil, generally criticized for their bad defending, lived up to their reputation in this final. For France, a 2-0 lead at the end of the first half was just the perfect scenario, and with Ronaldo barely there even in body, they could smother the midfield in the second half and wait for their chances in the counterattack. Playing with poise, confidence and fluency, France had brushed off early Brazilian supremacy to take over the game. Ronaldo, missing in action and missed by his teammates, was just a shadow of the player he was before. Only once, in minute 57, almost casually made himself space for a shot which Barthez held at the near post, but that was largely the extent of the Brazilian threat. With a quarter of an hour left, Zagallo gambled desperately, replacing César Sampaio by Edmundo, but the French, though their usually impeccable center-back Desailly had been sent off for a second bookable offence, stood firm. Indeed, revelling in the extra space seemed to help the French counterattacks, and substitute Dugarry missed another easy chance to kill the game there and then. In injury time, Denílson hit the top of the crossbar when Leboeuf gave him too much room, but then Vieira ushered Petit through to slip a cross-shot just inside the far post and make it 3-0. Joy for France after 68 years of World Cup striving; humiliation for Brazil, who lost a final by the widest margin without scoring a single goal. From the distance, it’s hard to believe how France could have won the World Cup without a goal from their front men in their last five matches, with virtually no contribution from Djorkaeff, and only sporadic interventions from Zidane. It seems clear that they were carried through by the workrate and reliability of Deschamps and Petit in midfield, and above all the arguably best back four of all time: Thuram, Blanc, Desailly, Lizarazu. Thuram was the best player in the tournament, with Desailly not far behind; Lizarazu was a motorized all-rounder on the left, and Blanc an elegant central defender. They protected their goal line so well that even Barthez (later famous for his frequent blunders at Manchester United) looked like a good shot stopper. France set a record by winning the championship while conceding only two goals (one of them a dubious penalty).

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