World Cup’s 101 Most Memorable Moments: The Golden (Goal) Rule

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Editor’s note: Each day between now and the kickoff of the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we’ll unveil a different memory from World Cup history. The countdown from 101 continues with Bebeto’s classic celebration.

Other than penalty shootouts, sudden death deciders had never been a thing at World Cups.

That changed in 1998, when FIFA debuted its controversial Golden Goal rule at the tournament for the first time. Until then, teams played a half-hour of extra time — during which any amount of goals could be scored — when matches were still tied at the end of 90 minutes.

“Golden” goals, on the other hand, determined the winner then and there. That raised the already-immense stakes during the knockout stage in France. 

Of the eight round-of-16 games in 1998, just one — between the hosts and Paraguay — went to extra time. The home fans’ hearts were in their throats as the additional session began in Lens, knowing one mistake from Les Bleus would instantly end their World Cup dreams, with no time to recover. Instead, French defender Laurent Blanc became the unlikely scorer of the first Golden Goal in World Cup history.

First Golden Goal

French defender Laurent Blanc scored the first golden goal to eliminate Paraguay in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

An avalanche of complaints that the Golden Goal rule was unfair eventually led FIFA to revert to the old system following the 2002 tournament. But Blanc’s strike — one of just two World Cup Golden Goals ever — lives on not just because it came first: it also sent France en route to their first title.

One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.