FRANCE is only one win away from defending their title at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It would be a historical feat, as only two nations have managed to win back-to-back titles at the tournament since its inception in 1930: Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.
Brazil came close again in 1998 but fell to Zinedine Zidane’s France in a final still shrouded in mystery over Ronaldo’s state of health that day. The only other reigning champion to even make it to the final since 1962 was Diego Maradona’s Argentina in 1990. It took a brutally efficient German team and a penalty converted by Andreas Brehme to deny Maradona the ultimate triumph in the country that shaped his career.
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