At the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. Group C was composed of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and host nation and eventual world champion

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Denmark and France started well, defeating Saudi Arabia and South Africa respectively. Next, France scored four to eliminate Saudi Arabia and qualify with a match to spare, while Denmark and South Africa drew. Needing a big win in their final game, against Saudi Arabia, South Africa conceded two penalties and could only draw, so Denmark still qualified despite losing their final game to France.

Standings

*France advanced to play Paraguay (runner-up of

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA World ...

) in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. *Denmark advanced to play Nigeria (winner of

) in the

Matches

Saudi Arabia vs Denmark

France vs South Africa

South Africa vs Denmark

France vs Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi Mohammed Saleh Al-Khilaiwi ( ar, محمد الخليوي;‎ 21 August 1971 – 13 June 2013) was a Saudi football defender from Saudi Arabia. At the club level, he played mostly for Al-Ittihad in his home country. Career Between 1992 and 200 ...

was sent off in the 19th minute after tripping

Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams. He also had 97 caps for the France national team. In a twelve-year i ...

from behind.

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

was ejected at the 71st minute when he appeared to plant his studs into the side of Saudi captain

Fuad Anwar Fuad Anwar Amin ( ar, فؤاد أنور أمين; born 13 October 1972) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. On club level, he played mostly for Al-Shabab and Al-Nasr in his home country. In ...

after they collided going for a ball.

France vs Denmark

South Africa vs Saudi Arabia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

South Africa at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Saudi Arabia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup