FIFA determined to extend the variety of groups within the match from 24 to 32, which led to a much bigger qualification pool of 174 international locations.
Host: France
Groups: 32
Format: Group stage, knockouts
Matches: 64
Targets: 171
Winner: France
Runners-up: Brazil
Golden Boot: Davor Suker (Croatia)
Background
The longest World Cup (32 days) was held in 1998 when France performed host for the second time (after 1938).
FIFA determined to extend the variety of groups within the match from 24 to 32, which led to a much bigger qualification pool of 174 international locations.
There have been 4 debuts, from 4 completely different continents underlining the broader attain of the sport.
Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa performed their first World Cup. Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic and Uruguay did not qualify.
After the departure of a number of the heroes of their 1994 win, Brazil unearthed one other proficient ahead: Ronaldo.
The 21-year-old scored 4 targets and made 5 assists on Brazil’s highway to the ultimate. He was the poster boy for younger soccer followers across the globe and seemed set to win his first world title.
Nonetheless, Ronaldo’s identify was lacking from the staff sheet on the day of the ultimate, inflicting a stir all over the world. It was later added on however the participant was unable to duplicate his performances from the earlier video games and was later discovered to have been unwell earlier than the sport.
Among the many upsets of the match have been Norway’s 2-1 win over Brazil and Nigeria’s 3-2 win over Spain. Croatia, led by the sensational Davor Suker, blazed their approach to the semi-finals with wins over Romania (1-0) and three-time winners Germany (3-0).
Nonetheless, they fell quick within the semis in opposition to hosts France.
France have been using on the success of a number of star gamers, together with Zinedine Zidane, who scored the staff’s first two targets within the last. The third was added by Emmanuel Petit and the house nation burst out with pleasure at their first World Cup win.
Highs
After being blacklisted for years over apartheid, South Africa performed its first World Cup.
The golden purpose rule was launched to encourage attacking play throughout additional time.
Regardless of the political tensions between Iran and USA, each groups displayed mutual respect and took a memorable group picture with arms over one another.
Michael Owen scored a marvel purpose – one of the memorable targets of the World Cup – when he scored England’s second of their round-of-16 match.
The official music of the match, The Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida) by Ricky Martin, gained international acclaim and has been ranked the perfect World Cup anthem by a number of publications and critics.
Just a few months earlier than the match, EA Sports activities launched World Cup 98, its first worldwide soccer recreation after acquiring rights from FIFA. The sport turned successful with video gaming followers.
Lows
After trailblazing his method by way of the match, Brazil’s Ronaldo was a shadow of himself throughout the last, resulting in conspiracy theories and inquests.
Saudi Arabia and South Korea fired their respective coaches after the primary two group matches, which led to losses.
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