France 1998 World Cup team Adidas team kits

The adidas branding went one step further with the new France national team kits in 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th staging of the World Cup, was held in France from June 10 to July 12 after 60 years to celebrate the third edition scheduled in 1938. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. France won their first title, the 7th nation to win a World Cup, and the first host nation to win the tournament since Argentina did it in 1978.Under head coaches Aime Jacquet, France swept Group C, with the lone blemish being the red card expulsion and two-game suspension of Zinedine Zidane in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.It was clear that though the team was far from being the most flamboyant in French history, it was a perfectly well-oiled machine that neither injury, nor expulsions, nor suspensions, managed to stop. Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly were linchpins of the best defense in the tournament, conceding only 2 goals in seven matches.

France match results in 1998 FIFA World Cup, France:

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts

France 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 9

Denmark 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4

South Africa 3 0 2 1 3 6 -3 2

Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 2 7 -5 1

June 12,1998 21:00

France 3 vs South Africa 0

Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Dugarry 34'Issa 77' (OG)Henry 90'

June 18,1998 21:00

France 4 vs Saudi Arabia 1

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Henry 36', 77'Trezeguet 68'Lizarazu 85'Zidane 71'Al-Khilaiwi 19'(SAUDI))

June 24,1998 16:00

France 2 vs Denmark 1

Stade Gerland, Lyon

Djorkaeff 12'(pen)Petit 56'M. Laudrup 42'(DEN,pen)

In the second round,Laurent Blanc of France scored the first Golden Goal in World Cup history as the hosts beat Paraguay 1-0. France beat Italy in the quarter-finals on penalties after a scoreless draw. Though they fell behind for the first time in the tournament to Croatia, Thuram scored two goals in France's comeback semi-final win. The overall defence consisting of Thuram, Desailly, Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu was extremely strong and often impenetrable.

Semi-Finals

July 8, 1998 21:00

France 2 Vs Croatia 1

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Thuram 47', 69'Suker 46'(CROAT)

Final

July 12, 1998 21:00

Brazil 0 vs France 3 Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Zidane 27', 45+1'Petit 90+3'

France 1998 FIFA World Cup squads:

Goalkeeper: 1 Bernard Lama (West Ham United), 16 Fabien Barthez (AS Monaco), 22 Lionel Charbonnier (Auxerre)

Defender: 2 Vincent Candela (AS Roma), 3 Bixente Lizarazu (Bayern Munich), 5 Laurent Blanc (Marseille),8 Marcel Desailly (AC Milan),15 Lilian Thuram (Parma), 18 Frank Leboeuf (Chelsea)Midfielder: 4 Patrick Vieira (Arsenal), 7 Didier Deschamps (Juventus), 10 Zinedine Zidane (Juventus), 11 Robert Pires (Metz), 13 Bernard Diomede (Auxerre),14 Alain Boghossian (Sampdoria),17 Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal), 19 Christian Karembeu (Real Madrid)

Forward: 6 Youri Djorkaeff (Inter Milan), 9 Stephane Guivarc'h (Auxerre), 12 Thierry Henry (AS Monaco), 20 David Trezeguet (AS Monaco), 21 Christophe Dugarry (Marseille)

Head coach: Aime Jacquet