In two days time will be the 18th anniversary of France winning their first and only World Cup title. With a 3-0 win against Brazil, Les Bleus had put their name in history books to win the coveted title and that too at home.
Fast forward to 2016 when France are looking to win once again at home. The venue for the final is the same as the one in 1998 – Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris. The opponents in Euro 2016 though are Portugal.
With goals from Emmanuel Petit and a brace from Zinedine Zidane, France easily got past the then defending champions. Then France captain Didier Deschamps, now coach, was in the starting lineup and was tasked with keeping the likes of Rivaldo and Leonardo quiet, which he did so perfectly teaming up with Christian Karembeu.
On that night in Paris, France had to keep quiet the Brazilian Ronaldo and tonight, they will try and keep quiet the Portuguese Ronaldo who has so far accumulated three goals and three assists.
The stats favour France at Stade de France with five wins and a draw in major competitions. That lone draw came against Italy in the 1998 World Cup – a game France won on penalties.