00:00As host nation, France would have been under the microscope anyway.
00:05But an embarrassing capitulation in the final qualifying stages for the 1994 World Cup intensified the pressure.
00:15Gérard Houllier had been sacked as coach, replaced by his assistant Aimé Jacquet,
00:20who in the minds of the French media carried baggage from the 1994 debacle.
00:27For Jacquet, there was only one way to go.
00:30Invest in youth and start again.
00:34Fortunately for him and for France, a young midfielder of Algerian descent was crying out for selection.
00:42Zinedine Zidane made his international debut in August 1994 at the age of 22.
00:49Five months later, an incident in England seemed initially to be a disaster for France's national team.
00:57Instead, it was the making of their surprising success.
01:01Eric Cantona assaulted a spectator in the Premier League,
01:05was banned for the rest of the season, and Jacquet stripped him of the French captaincy.
01:12Given his head, Zidane took over as the national team's playmaker,
01:16and the brilliant but abrasive and disruptive Cantona never played for his country again.
01:22Jacquet also transitioned winger David Ginola and striker Jean-Pierre Papin out of the side.
01:30And closer to the World Cup introduced youngsters Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and David Trezeguet.
01:41The French media were sceptical, many calling for the coach to be dumped.
01:45But with a fresh dynamic, the team exceeded all expectations,
01:50bounding through the group stage with nine goals to one.
01:54But a 2-1 win against Croatia in the semi-final
01:58was not enough to change the perception that Brazil would breeze to victory in the final.
02:05But Jacquet had discussed with Zidane a weakness in Brazil's defence at set pieces,
02:11and Zidane exploited it.
02:1327 minutes into the final, he headed his first into the net from a corner kick,
02:18and 19 minutes later, another corner kick, another header, another goal.
02:25With Ronaldo unable to raise a challenge,
02:28and the rest of the Brazilian team unable to step up,
02:31the French team breezed to an unlikely victory.
02:34Emmanuel Petit's 93rd-minute goal providing a 3-0 scoreline,
02:39the most decisive victory in any World Cup final.
02:44Zidane was man of the match,
02:46and while his best football was still ahead of him,
02:48it established him as the game's glamour star,
02:51heading into the new millennium.
02:54Of 98's other giant personalities,
02:57Ronaldo, too, would eventually fulfil his destiny.
03:01David Beckham's career would blossom going on to riches,
03:05celebrity, and ultimately forgiveness from England fans.
03:09Gaz's story was not so happy.
03:12But that's the nature of sport.
03:14It's the contrast between triumph and despair,
03:17which makes football's greatest stage such intriguing theatre.
03:21And it's the nature of sport.
03:21And it's the nature of sport.
03:21And it's the nature of sport.
03:22And it's the nature of sport.
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