Today Marks Quarter Century Since France's First World Cup Win!

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Yes, it was on this day 22 years ago that France defeated Brazil for what is so far the only time that France has ever won the World Cup championship. Here is what I wrote about it one year ago today, during the 2014 World Cup:

Like Super Bowl tickets, the tickets for the World Cup semifinal in Saint-Denis (as well as the tickets for the quarterfinal that my brother and I attended at Giants Stadium in 1994) are souvenir tickets, to add to that sense of it having been a really big deal. I absolutely loved them, and kept them both through the years. Even now, admittedly, I take them out every now and then to simply look at them, and appreciate the fact that my brother and I managed to go to such huge events, and in consecutive World Cups, to boot! The two nations that we are citizens of hosted the World Cup tournament back-to-back, which made me feel almost like an experienced aficionado after the semifinal with Croatia!

France wore their blue (home) jerseys for the Final, along with their traditional white shorts and red socks. Brazil wore their distinctive yellow/gold jerseys with blue shorts. 

France wore their white (away) jerseys for the first and only time in this tournament for the game against Italy. I am not entirely sure why. They also wore their white shorts, as opposed to the blue shorts that they normally wear with their white jerseys. Italy wore blue jerseys with blue shorts. I picked up this particular jersey not in France, but in Canada, in Montreal, actually, a few months after France had won the World Cup.

It has been a quarter of a century since France won it's first ever World Cup, which also happened to be the last time that it hosted the tournament. All of that happened back in June and July of 1998. The Final match was between France and the defending champions Brazil, who were favored, despite home field advantage clearly going in France's direction. Yet, Les Bleus managed to play dominantly through most of the tournament, with numbers which, I still feel, should qualify as one of the most dominant runs in World Cup history. Entering the Final, they had scored 12 goals and allowed only 2, and had won all six of their games. After scoring an exciting 3-0 upset victory in the Final, in a game that was not nearly as lopsided as the final score might suggest, Les Bleus finally stood triumphant, having achieved the ultimately victory in the sport for the first time ever.

The thought that all of this happened literally a quarter of a century ago now is rather astonishing. It hardly seems possible. That was more than half of my life ago, in terms of years. A sobering thought. And that first week, from when I first landed in France for my first visit in over 9 years, to attending the France-Croatia semifinal, to then attending the Three Tenor's free concert at the Champ de Mars, to watching France win that final match which I just described against Brazil to become champions du monde, and finally to a 14th of July celebration like no other, with the buzz from the World Cup win still clearly resonating, it felt like one of the most memorable, and yes, even magical, weeks of my entire adulthood.

So it seemed appropriate to share this blog entry again to mark the occasion. Enjoy!

I don't know to this day how on earth he managed to score such awesome tickets, but my brother actually got seats for the World Cup semi-final game, to be held on July 8th, back in 1998.

When he offered me the ticket, I jumped on the opportunity.

The thing is, though, it had been nine long years since my previous trip to France. I had still been in high school then - early in high school. It was the summer following my freshman year, and it was the bicentennial of the French Revolution, which meant it had been a huge occasion.

The year 1998 would prove to be another huge year for France, as well, as it was hosting the World Cup, and especially due to what happened specifically for the French side in that incredible World Cup. 

Shortly after I arrived, there would be even more reason why a trip to France in the summer of 1998, specifically, would be very memorable. But I'll get to that.

I knew that I would be going to France, so it was time to save up. That wound up being perhaps the best half year of financial discipline that I have had, before or since. I was very careful, and not only managed to save up some money for the trip, but wiped out a substantial amount of debt, to boot. It almost amazes me to this day that I managed to do that.

In the lead-up to the trip, I was not entirely sure how long I would be gone. Since it had been so long, I wanted it to be for a good duration, and three or four weeks was not out of the question. That was the amount of time that originally was on my mind, I think. But recognizing that it had been nine long years, I figured, why not five weeks? How many times would I get the chance to take five straight weeks? That was how long my trip had been back in 1989, but again, I was just a kid still then. Now, I was a grown man, at least officially. I would have to spend money on food and other necessities, and in the meantime, I would not actually be getting more money. It does not take a skilled mathematician to recognize that this could easily become a recipe for disaster.

Still, my heart got the better of me, and I decided on six weeks. Six weeks in France, staying at my brother's place in Paris.

I would arrive in Paris on the July 7th. Although I knew it would be amazing to be back in France, there actually was little to suggest to me beforehand just how amazing it would be. In fact, it would prove to be one of the most memorable weeks of my life, and for all the right reasons. That is what I am writing about.

The game we were slated to attend was scheduled for the next day - July 8th. Low and behold, France had qualified for the semi-final game. They would be playing Croatia. So, after orienting myself a bit with Paris on the first day and evening, we prepared for the game the next day.

Ir proved to be perhaps the most exciting game that France would be involved with in the entire torunament. That year, France enjoyed a level of dominance that is a rare feat. They played seven matches, and won all seven - a perfect record! In the process, they won the first ever "Golden Goal" game against Paraguay in the second round, and then outlasted Italy in a shootout, to qualify for the semi-final. Croatia had been more of a surprise, but they were a very talented team, and would show it on that evening.

The first half was scoreless, although there were some opportunities on both sides. Soccer can be very intense, because scoring is so important. In a game that is often low-scoring, any great play, and conversely, any mistake, can turn the tide of the game. So, to say the brand new, sparkling Stade de France was intense is an understatement.

There were no goals in the first half, but it would not take long before someone broke through to score in the second. As it turned out, Croatia was the first team to score, off of the magical foot (at least for the '98 tournament) of Davor Šuker in the 46th minute.

Croatia was up, 1-0.

That goal had been made possible largely due to a mistake by French defender Lilian Thuram.

As it turned out, though, he would more than make up for it. And it would not take long.

One minute later, Thuram, a defender and thus not normally a scorer, would himself get a goal to tie up the game, 1-1. The stadium absolutely exploded with excitement!

Both teams really knuckled down now, knowing the stakes. Obviously, neither team wanted to be the one to make that crucial mistake that would cost them a chance at the Final, and possibly the chance at hoisting the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Neither team had been to the Final before, let alone won it.

They battled in the deadlocked game, until France finally broke through in the 69th minute, once again off of the foot of Thuram. I will never forget his dropping to his knees right after the goal, and then placing his hands on the side of his face, as if deep in contemplation. It was a cocky gesture, to be sure, but I'll admit I loved it under those circumstances.

France was now up, 2-1.

But France had a difficult history in World Cup semifinal games, and it seemed that they were incapable of making things easier on themselves. Laurent Blanc collected a red card for elbowing Slaven Bilic. it was a rather BS call, and Bilic would later apologize to Blanc after the game. It cost Blanc a chance to play in the World Cup Final,

After Blanc received the red card, France only had 10 men on the field. With the numerical advantage, Croatia pressed hard to tie the game up. Ultimately, however, it was France's day, and they held them off to clinch the win, and their first ever appearance in the World Cup Final! Things were getting very exciting!

My brother and i walked back from the Stade de France (it is within walking distance of where he lived), and enjoyed the celebrations on the streets. It all seemed so overwhelming, but it would be virtually nothing compared to what Paris would be like four nights later, when French people all over the country celebrated the Wold Cup win!

Before then, however, there was one huge event! We went to see the Three Tenors at the Champs de Mars (in front of the Eiffel Tower) in a free concert that they gave on the 10th. It was really cool, although also very packed, to the point that it was a bit loud and detracted a bit from the concert.

Then, it was time for the Final. Brazil had defeated the Netherlands in their semifinal, and most experts believed that they would defeat France. Brazil is the ultimate in this sport, right?

But France seemed to be holding their own, keeping Brazil off the scoreboard. That was pretty good itself, but when France scored in the 27 minute off a header by Zinedine Zidane, the biggest star on the French team, the excitement was palpable. France was beating Brazil in the World Cup Final, 1-0!

Could they hold on, though?

Perhaps in retrospect, it began to feel like France's destiny when Zidane scored again in the 45th minute, just before the halftime break, to go up 2-0. It must have been extremely demoralizing for Brazil to allow that just before the break.

Still, it was Brazil, and they are so good. They can just explode and score several goals at any moment, and everyone was still nervous, knowing that it was imperative that France hold on to the momentum.

The most important thing that France did in the second half was smother Brazil's normally lethal attack, keeping them scoreless. Time was growing short, and the excitement was really building now.

Then, regulation ended, and it was extra time. It would take a miracle now for Brazil to win, but you don't count you chickens before they hatch, right?

But when Emmanuel Petit got the ball deep, very close to the Brazil goal, and then beat goaltender Cláudio Taffarel, it clinched the tremendous win! France was up, 3-0. Moments later, the ref blew the whistle, and the final outcome was official. France had won a resounding victory over Brazil, 3-0!

France were World Champions!

We went out to celebrate, and the streets were just filled with people celebrating! They said it was the biggest party that Paris had seen since the Liberation, and I can believe it! People were climbing lamp posts, while others were kicking balls around, bouncing them off of cars. Almost all the cars were honking, and some people would just go on the hoods of strangers, and everyone was all smiles on that night. It was just unbelievable!

People were chanting "On est les champions!", and generally in great cheer.

The party went onto the wee hours. my brother and I called it a day maybe around 3 or 4 in the morning, but the party went on.  After going to bed, I remember waking up briefly around 7am, and hearing some honking horns! It was wild!

The party atmosphere continued through the next two days, until July 14th, which is Bastille Day. That is France's national holiday, not dissimilar to July 4th in the United States, or Canada Day on July 1st. We went up on Montmartre hill, to get a panoramic view of the fireworks. we had an opportunity to see Jean Michel Jarre give another free concert at the Champs de Mars. From the looks of it from the distance that we were at, it really looked spectacular!

Of course, like returned to normal, more or less, afterwards. And I was in Paris for another month and change, and it was amazing.

Yet, that first week back, from the 7th (the day I arrived) until Bastille Day on the 14th, was one of the most amazing weeks that I have ever experienced!

There obviously other really cool things about that trip to France. We even had a chance to watch the Tour de France when it concluded in Paris. All it would have taken is the will, and then a Metro ride down to the Champs-Élysées, and to watch. But for whatever the reason, we did not go.

My brother and I were just talking about that not long ago, and I expressed my regret at not having capitalized in 1998. He told me there would still be plenty of opportunities.

He's most likely right. But I just went to Europe for the first time in over thirteen years, and still have not yet been back to France in now well over thirteen years. Back in 1998, it was my first trip to France in nine years. So, opportunities may come indeed, but they have not exactly been forthcoming as of late.

Still, all in all, I remember that trip fondly. In particular, that first week, which remains my fondest sports related memory of all time. I would not exchange that sports memory for any other!

And it all happened 20 years ago today!






Here is a review of the actual game which I published a few years ago:

Coupe du Monde 1998 - Finale/Final - France v Brasil/Brazil published on July 12, 2016:

France v. Brasil - Finale - Coupe du monde 1998

12 juillet 1998 - Coupe du Monde - Stade de France (St. Denis)

This is it! This is the big game of the wonderful World Cup tournament of 1998! And it was made all the bigger because it features the home team, France, making a first ever appearance in the World Cup Final match, against the historically dominant national team in the sport, Brazil.

My brother and I had gone to see the exciting semifinal against Croatia four days earlier, and we celebrated like everyone else with France's narrow victory.

But now, there was a nervous energy abounding. The farther France managed to go in that tournament, the higher the stakes, and the more pressure everyone felt. All that it would take would be one solid game to produce a victory, whether or not France was favored to win or lose against Brazil. It seemed that everyone felt it. There was a lot of anticipation.

Brazil had won the tournament four times already by that point, and they were easily the most accomplished team in World Cup history. Everyone looked to them as the standard by which everyone else measured themselves, and inevitably found themselves lacking.

By way of comparison, France had come relatively close to the very highest level before. It had reached the semifinal in both 1982 and 1986, during the days of star Michel Platini. It had reached the consolation, third-place game twice in a row during those two tournaments, and even won once. France had also won the Euro in 1984, for the first and only time to that point. Also in 1984, France had won the gold medal at the Olympics.

Yet, despite this fairly impressive resume for the French side, the one thing that they had never done was win a World Cup. Had not even qualified until now for the Final, so this was their big chance.

While my brother and I had enjoyed the luxury of actually attending the semifinal match, we did not have quite so much luck for this game, which we watched on a tiny television inside of my brother's tiny studio apartment in Paris. We had spent much of the day with family, and the son in the family had driven us almost into Paris, dropping us off at the Stade de France many hours before the match itself was to be played. There were already a fair amount of people there, including the media. Admittedly, I envied the people who had managed to score tickets to this biggest of all games. Bigger than the Super Bowl, because this truly is a championship that many people around the world tune in for and watch!

I do not remember any longer how we got back to the apartment, if we took the Paris Metro, or walked in.

What I do remember is the nervousness that I felt, which was shared by the entire country by that point. This was what we were all waiting for, the Final match, that we felt France had earned a berth in, and hoped France would earn a win in.

We watched some of the pregame talk and predictions, then watched the players come out, followed by the national anthems of both Brazil and France. It was stirring to listen to how passionately the crowd sang along to La Marseillaise.

Finally, the time came for the match to begin. Everyone was wondering who would break through first, who would draw first blood in that (presumably) all-important first goal.

France's biggest star, Zinedine Zidane, had endured a relatively bad tournament to that point. His most iconic moment in the tournament to that point had been a rough and, frankly, foolish penalty. It was deserved, because it was entirely unnecessary. Otherwise, he had really not done anything entering that final match to really distinguish himself.

However, that would change in the Final, as he finally broke through and shined incredibly brightly on that day. Zidane broke the scoreless deadlock with a header in the 27th minute, giving France the 1-0 lead, and bringing the 80,000 assembled at the Stade de France, not to mention the rest of the nation, to it's feet, hooting and hollering in excitement. That championship, which had proven so elusive to that point, was closing in, almost within reach now. Zidane had a determined, almost angry expression on his face following that first goal.

When he scored the second goal, also a header, in the extra session of the first half, he looked a lot happier. He grabbed the front of his jersey and started kissing it, before dropping to his knees and celebrating with teammates with embraces. France now led 2-0 at halftime. The championship was now very, very close.

Still, this is Brazil that we are talking about. This was the storied franchise in the sport's history, and France, by comparison, had a history of choking in the biggest games. Nobody was celebrating too loudly just yet, despite the lead.

So, the nervous energy continued, as play resumed in the second half. Brazil had some chances, most notably, or memorably perhaps, when star Ronaldo was within striking position near the goal. But French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez pursued the ball with deep concentration, and was able to catch it, although he crashed with Ronaldo in the process It was a nervous moment, a close call, and there were several throughout the match. Despite holding a 2-0 lead throughout most of the second half, no one was feeling overly confident with such a formidable opponent on the other side. If Brazil scored even one goal, the game would be a lot tighter, and even more tense, in a hurry. Almost everyone in France just wanted the win, for the French side to just hold on.

Hold on they did, at least until the extra time. They did not make it too easy, however. That is never France's way, it seems. Like in the Croatia game, France suddenly found themselves a man short when Marcel Desailly received his second yellow card, which meant a red card. He was ejected from the game, giving Brazil a man advantage, with more than twenty minutes of play left, plus extra session time. Too much time.

Yet, France did have a decent 2-0 lead. All that they needed to do was hang on, not allow Brazil to score a goal to close the margin, and failing that, to especially not allow Brazil to get a second goal, and make things really scary. The French players needed to continue to play tight defense, as they had all tournament long. Just hang on a little bit longer.

They managed to hang on, and the minutes passed. Soon, the regular time session ran out, and there were just a few minutes of extra session left.

By that point, there was a sense that France was destined to win. Barring a miracle by Brazil, France had earned a fairly comfortable 2-0 lead, after all, and Brazil's opportunities were quickly closing.

Brazil was all about offense now, and that is completely understandable. When they received a corner kick late in the extra session, they had all of their men up to attack, which left them vulnerable defensively if they did not score a goal. This proved to be the decisive sequence, when any last lingering doubts about a French win finally subsided. There was no Brazilian goal, and the French players that got the ball raced up the field virtually unopposed, looking to put the final nail on the coffin. There was beautiful passing as a couple of Brazilian players caught up. When the ball reached Emmanuel Petit, he was able to kick the clinching goal into the far corner of the net, scoring to ice the game that would decide it for France.

France 3, Brazil 0. Mere seconds after the Petit goal, the final whistle sounded, and French players celebrated the championship. So did French President Jacques Chirac, and former French star Michel Platini.

So did an entire nation.

But I will discuss the post-game celebrations later. For now, I want to stick with this particular match.

In retrospect, France dominated. At least, statistically they did. Not just in that match, but throughout the entire tournament. They were undefeated, sporting a perfect 7-0-0 record, which nobody else could boast, and which, in fact, few even World Cup champions can boast. No losses, no ties. All wins. They outscored their opponents by a combined 15-2 mark, which again, looks impressive on paper. But when you look at each match individually, you will find that they loaded up on goals for three of those games in particular - against South Africa with a 3-0 win, against Saudi Arabia with a 4-0 win, and finally, against Brazil with another 3-0 win. In the other four games, they only outscored their opponents 5-2, and one of those games was a 0-0 game against Italy that was ultimately decided by penalty kicks. France scraped by with one goal wins against Denmark to clinch their group in the round robin, then a 1-0 Golden Goal win against Paraguay in a very tight first round of elimination contest, and followed up their penalty shootout win over Italy in the quarterfinal with another victory by only one goal in the semifinal against Croatia.

In the Final against Brazil, the 3-0 score suggests a rout, especially when you consider that France held onto the ball for almost two-thirds of the match. Yet, Brazil had almost as many total shots, and even more shots on goal than France did. The two sides were almost equal in terms of fouls committed, and France received far more yellow cards, by a margin of 6 to 1! Plus, they had Desailly's second yellow, which amounted to a red card, giving Brazil that man advantage late in the game, which made a 2-0 lead, which should have felt relatively comfortable, feel like a much tighter game than the score actually indicated. Indeed, it took Petit's clincher for French fans to truly let loose and celebrate a championship.

Yet close or not, France actually did manage to win the championship, and in a convincing, if not exactly dominating, fashion. If France was dominant during that tournament, it feels like it was their defense that achieved the level of dominance that the 1998 France side should be remembered for. They allowed only two goals in those seven games, and only trailed once all tournament long, briefly, in the game that my brother and I attended against Croatia. They tied it up one minute later, and would eventually take the lead, and go on to win that contest.

I suspect that France's defense was the key unit in that World Cup tournament, and they were the deciding factor in what ultimately proved to be the championship - France's first ever (and so far, only) World Cup championship.

But a championship it was, and earn it France did. Now, with the victory well in hand, it was time to celebrate, finally!