France's 1998 World Cup team - Who were the players and where are they now?

It was the first World Cup win for the Les Blues

France were the hosts of the 1998 World Cup. The final match was played between Brazil and Les Blues at the Stade de France on July 12, 1998.

They defeated Brazil 3-0 in a lop-sided final, with Zinedine Zidane scoring a brace. He was even awarded the man of the match award for his performance. The current manager of France, Didier Deschamps was the skipper of the team that lifted the World Cup. They became the seventh different nation to win the tournament.

Fabian Barthez

The goalkeeper made 87 appearances for France in his career. Apart from winning the World Cup in 1998, he also won the Euro in 2000.

He has played the most number of matches for Monaco in his club career. In 2000, he was signed by United as a replacement for Peter Schmeichel.

After his retirement from football in April 2007. he took to motor racing and has even participated in the Le Mans 24-hour race on a number of occasions.

Lillian Thuram

Lillian Thuram played as a right back in his footballing career. He made 142 appearances for France and retired from professional football in 2008.

He is currently a social activist and fights for equality through the Lillian Thuram Foundation. He has also authored a book called 'White Thinking' which was published in October 2021.

Franck Alain James Leboeuf

The centre-back played for France from 1995-2002. He made 50 international appearances and scored four goals. He spent most of his club career in Strasbourg and also played for Chelsea.

He is currently working as a sports commentator and football analyst. He has also acted in several plays in France and even featured in movies. He played the role of a doctor in Stephen Hawking's biopic The Theory of Everything.

Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly is regarded to be one of the best centre-backs in the history of French football. He made 166 appearances for France in a career spanning over a decade from 1993-2004. However, in the 1998 final, he was sent off in the 68th minute after being shown two yellow cards.

After his retirement from football in 2006, he became a football pundit. He is also involved with a lot of charity work in Ghana and is also the UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador.

Bixente Lizarazu

The left-back was a key figure in the French dressing room. He made 97 appearances for France and played over 500 club games. He won four trophies with the Les Blues- the World Cup in 1998, Euro Cup in 2000 and FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003.

After his retirement in 2006, he became the European champion in Jiu Jitsu, winning in the Blue Belt Senior 1 Light Division. He is still into martial arts along with being a scuba diver and cyclist. He also occasionally works as a TV pundit.

Didier Deschamps

Deschamps was the skipper of the World Cup-winning team. He made 103 appearances for France and boasts of an illustrious playing career at several leading European clubs like Juventus and Chelsea.

He is currently the French national team manager and had led them to the World Cup in 2018. Deschamps is one of the few players to have won the World Cup as a player and also as a coach.

Cristian Karembeu

The defensive midfielder made 53 appearances for France. He played for Real Madrid and won two UEFA Champions League titles in 1997-98 and 1999-00.

After his retirement in 2006, he has worked as a TV pundit. He is also a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport.

He is also acted as an ambassador for LaLiga.

Emmanuel Petit

Petit played a key role in midfield along with Zidane in the final against Brazil. He was the set-piece taker for France and it was his corner that led to the opening goal. He also scored the third goal for France after latching on to a ball by Patrick Vieira.

Petit is currently working as a football pundit for various media organisations.

Zinedine Zidane

Zidane was the star of the final against Brazil. His two headed goals in the first half put France in the driving seat. He was simply unstoppable in midfield and was crucial in dictating proceedings. He played 108 matches in his international career.

Zidane had a wonderful spell as Real Madrid coach. He is the only manager in the world to have won the Champions League on three consecutive years.

He is currently on a sabbatical after leaving the position of Real Madrid's head coach in 2021.

Youri Djorkaeff

Youri Djorkaeff played 82 times for Les Blues and scored 28 goals. He spent most of his playing career in Monaco. However, he won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1997-98. He retired from football in 2006 and currently appears in various football shows.

Stéphane Guivarc'h

The forward made 14 appearances for France in his career. He retired from football in 2002 and returned to his village in France and started fishing. He currently works for a company owned by his friend which sells swimming pools.

Patrick Vieira (Substitute)

The French midfielder assisted the third goal of France in the final after being brought on in the final quarter of the match. He made 107 appearances for France and scored six goals.

He played for the likes of Juventus, Arsenal and Inter Milan during an illustrious club career.

He is currently the manager of Premier League side Crystal Palace.

Alain Boghossian (Substitute)

The midfielder had a short stint with the French national team and made 26 appearances for them. He retired in 2003 from professional football after completing the 2002-03 season with Espanyol.

He is a golfer and also worked as an assistant coach to former manager Raymond Domenech in the France national team.

Christophe Dugarry (Substitute)

The forward made 55 appearances for France and scored eight goals. He retired from football in 2005 after playing for several high profile clubs like Barcelona, AC Milan and Marseille.

He currently works as a football pundit in various media channels. He has grabbed headlines for his statements on various footballing personalities like Kylian Mbappe, Jose Mourinho and even Lionel Messi.

"What is [Griezmann] afraid of? A kid who is 1.5 metres tall and half autistic? All he has to do is show some balls at this point," he commented.

He later apologised saying, "I’m sincerely sorry for the breadth and depth of my remarks about Lionel Messi. I didn't want to stigmatise people with autism disorders, that was not my intention. I apologise to the people I shocked and will do it again (apologise) on Team Duga (TV show) this evening."