when did the world cup change to 32 teams
History of the FIFA World Cup The 1998 World Cup was held in France, and had an expanded format featuring 32 teams. Iran beat the Maldives in qualification by the widest margin in World Cup history – 17–0. In the finals, the second round match between France and Paraguay witnessed the first golden goal in World Cup history, as Laurent Blanc scored to give the hosts a 1–0 victory. Hosts France won the tournament by beating Brazil 3–0 in the final, as the scorer of four goals in the tournament, Ronaldo, appeared to be less than a hundred percent in the match, and was unable to make any impact. Debutants Croatia finished a commendable third.