The French forward Kylian Mbappé was not yet born when France beat Brazil, 3-0, to win the World Cup at home on July 12, 1998. But like any other French citizen, Mbappé, 19, has had no shortage of opportunities to relive the moment this month.
There has been a deluge of material and events commemorating the 20th anniversary of France’s first and only victory in a tournament that was, lest anyone forget, the brainchild of two Frenchmen: Jules Rimet and Henri Delaunay.
In the week before this World Cup in Russia began, French television networks broadcast three documentaries about the 1998 victory. One film, titled, “Le Sacre d’une Nation,” contained video of a 7-year-old Antoine Griezmann, who, with a friend, was dashing around the French national team’s training ground near Lyon during the summer of 1998 while wearing a No. 7 French jersey.
It was quite a scene, quite a comment, but it is up to Griezmann, now wearing France’s No. 7 in the World Cup, and the rest of his teammates to determine just how prescient it turns out to be. “When I see the quality of today’s French players, especially all these forwards, of course I say to myself, something wonderful is going to happen,” Aimé Jacquet, the long-retired manager of the 1998 team, said.
So far, it has yet to happen in Russia. In its opening match in Kazan, France struggled to find continuity and opportunity against a well-organized Australian team.