The 1998 Football World Cup Tournament was held from June 10 through July 12 at various venues throughout France. For match results and statistics, see Football World Cup 1998.

The World Cup opened with 1994 champions Brazil's 2-1 victory over Scotland. Norway pulled the shock of Group A, topping the holders 2-1 after two late goals. Still, both teams advanced to the next round. Italy easily won Group B, with Chile's three draws enough for them to get through.

France swept Group C, with the lone blemish being the red card explusion and two-game suspension of Zinedine Zidane in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. Denmark also moved on from the group. Nigeria was the surprise winner of Group D, dubbed the Group of Death, as Spain once again failed to live up to high pre-cup expecations. Nigeria beat them 3-2 in a thrilling game and moved on to the next round together with Paraguay.

Netherlands and Mexico moved on from Group E, a group that saw four games end in draws. Germany and Yugoslavia made easy work of Group F.

A late goal for Romania saw them beat England 2-1 and take the top spot in Group G; the English finished second. Argentina swept Group H, joined by Croatia in the second round.

In the second round, Italy beat Norway 1-0 and Brazil made easy work of Chile, 4-1. Laurent Blanc of France scored the first Golden Goal in World Cup history as the hosts beat Paraguay, 1-0. Denmark surprised Nigeria, crushing them 4-1. Germany beat Mexico and Netherlands topped Yugoslavia by identical 2-1 scores. Croatia upset Romania 1-0. Perhaps the best game of the tournament saw Argentina beat England on penalties after tying them 2-2 in a game that saw a wondergoal from 18-year-old Michael Owen. The game was marred by England's David Beckham being sent off after kicking Diego Simeone.

France beat Italy in the quarterfinals on penalties after a scoreless draw. Brazil topped Denmark 3-2 in an exciting game. A late goal from Dennis Bergkamp of the Netherlands eliminated Argentina, 2-1. Croatia pulled perhaps the biggest shocker of the tournament, crushing Germany 3-0.

In the semifinals, Patrick Kluivert equalized late for the Netherlands to make it 1-1, but the Dutch couldn't pull it out in the penalty shootout, sending Brazil to the final. They were joined by France, as defender Lilian Thuram scored two goals to offset Golden Boot winner Davor Suker's opener for Croatia. The Croats beat the Dutch for third place.

In the final, Zinedine Zidane took over. He scored two goals, with Emmanuel Petit adding one late to give France a 3-0 win over Brazil and their first World Cup title.