1998 FIFA World Cup
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50 free 1998 FIFA World Cup trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup in France was the first to feature 32 teams, drawn into eight groups of four, and it ended with the hosts lifting the trophy for the first time. Along the way came debutant nations, a new sudden-death rule in extra time, and a final overshadowed by a team-sheet mystery that fans still argue about. This quiz covers the tournament the way people look it up: which teams were drawn in which group and who went through, the 22-man squads and the coaches and captains who led them, the knockout rounds, and the final against Brazil. It also asks about the players left at home, the award winners, the venues, the music and the odd stories from that summer. It is written for anyone who watched in 1998 and wants to see what stuck, for quiz hosts building a football round, and for younger fans catching up on a tournament they missed. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so a wrong guess still teaches you something.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Brazil striker was left off the teamsheet for the 1998 World Cup final, then reinstated before kick-off?
Ronaldo
Ronaldo had suffered a convulsive fit that afternoon and spent three hours in hospital. He still won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
Q 02Which France midfielder scored two headers from corners in the 3–0 win over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final?
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane had earlier become the first French player sent off at a World Cup, for a stamp in the group stage. He missed two matches, then decided the final.
Q 03Which nation finished third at the 1998 World Cup in its first appearance as an independent country?
Croatia
Croatia beat Germany 3–0 in the quarter-finals and the Netherlands in the third-place match, seven years after declaring independence from Yugoslavia.
Q 04Which England midfielder was sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup round of 16?
David Beckham
David Beckham flicked a leg at Simeone while lying on the turf after a foul. England went out on penalties, and an effigy of him was hung outside a London pub.
Q 05What kind of animal was Footix, the blue official mascot of the 1998 World Cup in France?
A rooster
A rooster is the traditional symbol of France, and 91% of people surveyed linked Footix to the host nation at once. The '-ix' ending was borrowed from the Astérix comics.
Q 06Which Latin pop singer recorded The Cup of Life, the official song of the 1998 World Cup?
Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin made the song after FIFA asked him for an anthem. It reached number one in 30 countries and topped the French chart for six weeks.
Q 07Which France defender beat Paraguay at the 1998 World Cup with the first golden goal in the tournament's history?
Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc struck with six minutes of extra time left, which ended the match on the spot. He then missed the final, suspended after the only red card of his international career.
Q 08Which team's players bleached their hair blond after qualifying from Group G at the 1998 World Cup?
Romania
Romania had won its first two matches, so the squad celebrated with a group dye job while its coach shaved his head. The press nicknamed the team the Bleach Boys.
Q 09Which Italy captain at the 1998 World Cup was picked by his own father, the team's head coach?
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini led the side while his father Cesare coached it. Italy did not lose a match, going out to the hosts in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out.
Q 10On which Paris street did an estimated 1.5 million people celebrate France winning the 1998 World Cup?
Champs-Élysées
The Champs-Élysées filled overnight as the players' faces were projected onto the Arc de Triomphe. The crowds returned the next day for the team's open-top bus parade.
Q 11Which Group A team came from behind to beat Brazil 2–1 at the 1998 World Cup with a late penalty?
Norway
Norway trailed with seven minutes left, then scored twice. Kjetil Rekdal's winning penalty took the team past the group stage for the first time.
Q 12Which team lost 2–1 to Brazil in the opening match of the 1998 World Cup after a Tom Boyd own goal?
Scotland
Scotland had levelled through a John Collins penalty before a saved shot rebounded in off Boyd. The team finished bottom of Group A with a single point.
Q 13Which South American team reached the 1998 World Cup round of 16 from Group B with three draws and no wins?
Chile
Chile conceded an equaliser in all three group matches, yet a record-low three points was enough for second place. Brazil then beat the team 4–1.
Q 21Which Cameroon forward, aged 17, was the youngest player named in any squad at the 1998 World Cup?
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o was 17 years and three months old when he appeared against Italy. The oldest player at the tournament, a goalkeeper, was more than twice his age.
Q 22Which club supplied 13 players to the 32 squads at the 1998 World Cup, more than any other?
Barcelona
Barcelona edged out every other club among the 704 players at the tournament. By country, clubs in England supplied the most players, just ahead of Italy and Spain.
Q 23Which England midfielder was left out of Glenn Hoddle's 1998 World Cup squad after tabloid photos of late-night kebabs?
Paul Gascoigne
Q 14Which top seed went out in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup despite beating Bulgaria 6–1?
Spain
Spain had lost its opening Group D match 3–2 and then drawn 0–0, so six goals in the last game came too late. Every other top seed won its group.
Q 15Which African team won Group D at the 1998 World Cup, then lost 4–1 to Denmark in the round of 16?
Nigeria
Nigeria won its first two matches to take the group with a game to spare. It had arrived as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, 74th in the world.
Q 16Which Group E team went out of the 1998 World Cup unbeaten after drawing all three of its matches?
Belgium
Belgium needed a big win over South Korea in its last match and managed only a draw. France and Italy were the only other teams not to lose a game.
Q 17Which team handed white roses to the United States players before beating them 2–1 at the 1998 World Cup?
Iran
Iran offered the flowers as a symbol of peace, and the two squads posed together for a photograph. The Group F result was the country's first World Cup win.
Q 18Which debutant nation beat Japan 2–1 in its last Group H match at the 1998 World Cup?
Jamaica
Jamaica won through two Theodore Whitmore goals in Lyon, its first World Cup victory. Three of the four Group H teams were playing in their first finals.
Q 19Which debutant nation did France beat 3–0 in the hosts' first match of the 1998 World Cup?
South Africa
South Africa was playing its first World Cup, six years after being readmitted to world football. It drew its other two Group C matches and went home.
Q 20Which Group C team sacked World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after two matches of the 1998 World Cup?
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia dismissed him after two defeats. He was one of three coaches fired during the tournament, and had led Brazil to the title four years earlier.
Paul Gascoigne wrecked Hoddle's room in a rage on hearing the news and had to be restrained. The photos had appeared a week before the final squad was chosen.
Q 24Which Brazil striker, a hero of the 1994 win, was cut from the 1998 World Cup squad with a muscle injury?
Romário
Romário was dismissed on the very day squads had to be submitted, after failing to recover in time. He broke down in tears at the press conference that followed.
Q 25Which Germany veteran appeared at a record-equalling fifth tournament at the 1998 World Cup after a late call-up?
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Matthäus was called up to replace the injured Matthias Sammer and became the first outfield player at five World Cups. Only a Mexican goalkeeper had done it before.
Q 26Which France goalkeeper conceded only two goals in seven matches at the 1998 World Cup and won the Yashin Award?
Fabien Barthez
Fabien Barthez kept five clean sheets, and one of the two goals that beat him was a penalty. Before every match a teammate kissed his shaved head for luck.
Q 27Which France head coach won the 1998 World Cup after L'Équipe had argued he was the wrong man for the job?
Aimé Jacquet
Aimé Jacquet had angered the press by naming 28 players instead of a final 22. He stepped down straight after the tournament, citing the criticism he had faced.
Q 28Which France captain lifted the trophy at the 1998 World Cup, then won it again as head coach in 2018?
Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager. As a hard-working midfielder he was nicknamed the Water-Carrier.
Q 29Which Brazil head coach at the 1998 World Cup had already won the trophy twice as a player?
Mário Zagallo
Mário Zagallo had a hand in all four of Brazil's earlier titles: as a player in 1958 and 1962, as manager in 1970 and as assistant in 1994. This time his team lost the final.
Q 30Which 20-year-old forward finished as France's top scorer at the 1998 World Cup with three goals?
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry arrived with only three caps and scored all his goals in the group stage. He was due to come on in the final, but a red card forced a defensive change instead.