24/06/2026
World Cup Tales - France '98 🇫🇷
The 1998 World Cup Final in Paris was one of the most hotly anticipated finals of all time.
Defending champions Brazil were looking to add a record fifth World Cup title, while Aimé Jacquet's French side were desperate to win their first ever World Cup trophy on home soil.
There was a phenomenal amount of talent gracing the Stade de France pitch that day, but it's fair to say the media's focus was firmly fixed on two men at the peak of their powers - Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazário.
In particular, the latter. Already a World Cup winner at just 17 years old without playing a single minute in 1994, R9 had exploded onto the footballing scene in the four years that followed. The kid had everything - pace, power, dribbling, skill, and, of course, a spectacular eye for goal.
Ronaldo was Nike's poster boy throughout the 1990s, starring in iconic adverts and wearing the famous Mercurial boots that were designed specifically to complement his explosive speed.
However, the build-up to the final took a dramatic turn when Ronaldo suffered a mysterious convulsive fit just hours before kick-off. Initially left out of Brazil's starting lineup before being reinstated shortly before the match, questions surrounding his health and fitness sparked one of the biggest controversies in World Cup history. To this day, debate remains over what exactly happened and whether he should have played.
While Ronaldo endured one of the most difficult afternoons of his career, Zinedine Zidane produced the performance that would cement his place in French football folklore. The elegant midfielder scored two towering first-half headers from corners before Emmanuel Petit added a late third, securing a famous 3-0 victory. Zidane's man-of-the-match display inspired France to their first-ever World Cup triumph and transformed him into a national icon overnight.
