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On Sunday, when France goes for international soccer glory against Croatia in the World Cup final, they will do so nearly 20 years to the day from when the country first won a World Cup.
France, playing on home soil, was an extraordinary collection of talent, boasting one of the greatest attacking midfielders in the game’s history in Zinedine Zidane, stout defenders like Marcel Desailly, and future superstars such as Thierry Henry.
Many of these players would also go on to further international glory, winning the European Championship two years later. There is even a direct connection to the current France squad, as 1998 team’s captain, Didier Deschamps, is the current France manager. So now is the perfect time to go back and look at that incredible squad, and see where they have gone since then.
Zinedine Zidane was an attacking midfielder for Juventus and the talisman of the French team. He scored two goals in the Final, and also scored in the penalty kick shootout against Italy in the quarter-finals.
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Zinedine continued his remarkable career with Juventus, and later Real Madrid. He later went into coaching and eventually became the manager of Real Madrid, whom he led to three straight Champions League wins before abruptly stepping down this summer.
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Didier Deschamps was a defensive midfielder for Juventus and the France captain.
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See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Here’s when the 2018 FIFA World Cup final starts where you live — and how you can watch it live online
- The most mesmerizing photos from the World Cup so far
- Cristiano Ronaldo: How the biggest sports star on the planet makes and spends his millions
