- Lilian Thuram’s brace boosts the hosts into the 1998 Final
- France quickly overturned a second-half deficit against Croatia
- Relive this World Cup classic on Saturday 9 May at 18:00 CEST
France and Croatia have met just twice at the FIFA World Cup™, and the most recent encounter remains fresh in football fans’ memories: a 4-2 win for Les Bleus to hoist the Trophy two years ago. But 20 years before that Final, there was a taut semi-final contested between the two sides at the Stade de France.
A second-half brace for Lilian Thuram helped propel the hosts of France 1998 into the Final, but the victory did not come easily. Croatia No9 Davor Suker opened the scoring, goalkeeper Drazen Ladic turned in a brave performance and France centre-half Laurent Blanc was sent off in the 76th minute.
Despite Croatia’s best efforts, France eked out a 2-1 win to reach the Final and eventually capture their first World Cup. Now the #WorldCupAtHome is bringing fans a replay of that fierce 1998 semi-final on Saturday 9 May at 18:00 CEST. Watch the game in full–plus many other classic match-ups on this YouTube playlist.
Join in
- Tune into FIFATV on YouTube for France-Croatia (France 1998) at 18:00 CEST on Saturday 9 May, and get in on the conversation in the live chat during the game
- Follow along for more coverage including exclusive video on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels
- Engage with us and other fans on social media using #WorldCupAtHome
- Immediately after the game, vote for your Moment of the Match on Twitter