Golden goal: learn about the rule that was decisive in France x Paraguay in 1998

Opponents this Saturday (4), France and Paraguay already had an epic duel that went down in World Cup history. In the 1998 edition, the French defeated the South American team with a golden goal in the round of 16 match.

Understand the golden goal
An old tiebreaker rule, the golden goal, also known as sudden death, was used in the 1998 World Cups, in France, and 2002, in Japan and South Korea.

Unlike the current model of extra time - with two halves of 15 minutes - in the golden goal the game ended as soon as a goal was scored.

The rule ended up being abolished by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that regulates football rules. The golden goal was criticized after many teams started to defend themselves, avoiding a possible goal from the opponent and the consequent elimination.

Historic goal in France x Paraguay
And the first golden goal in a World Cup happened precisely in that France x Paraguay. Defender Laurent Blanc was the scorer of the goal, in the 9th minute of extra time, which put Les Bleus in the quarter-finals.

In that duel, the French team was unable to break through the Paraguayan defense, which included Gamarra, Arce, Ayala and Sarabia, in the 90 minutes.

France, who would become champions of that World Cup, had big names, such as Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram and David Trezeguet.

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Source: CNN