<Tr> <Th> Weather </Th> <Td> Clear 23 ° C (73 ° F) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ← 1994 2002 → </Td> </Tr> <P> The 1998 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that was played on 12 July 1998 at the Stade de France in Saint - Denis to determine the winner of the 1998 FIFA World Cup . The final was contested by Brazil, who were the defending champions having won the previous FIFA World Cup four years earlier in 1994, and the host nation France, who had reached the final of the tournament for the first time . France won the match 3--0 to claim the World Cup for the first time, with the timing of the match two days before Bastille Day adding to the significance of the victory . Zinedine Zidane, who was named man of the match, scored twice before half - time and Emmanuel Petit added a third goal in the last minute . The match had an attendance in the region of 75,000 . </P> <P> On their way to the final, defending champions Brazil, coached by their former player Mário Zagallo, recorded victories over Scotland (2--1) and Morocco (3--0) to top their group with six points from three matches, suffering a surprise 2--1 defeat at the hands of Norway in their final group game . After a 4--1 win over Chile and a 3--2 success against Denmark, they reached the final with a penalty shoot - out victory over the Netherlands . As for France, they won their three group matches and defeated Paraguay in the knockout stages on golden goals . They had a penalty shoot - out with Italy in the quarter - finals, and defeated recently formed Croatia to reach the final . </P>

Who won the 1998 football world cup final