World Cup Quiz: Can You Name England’s France 98 Squad?

Andy Clark

Last Updated on 27/03/2026 by Andy Clark

According to Baddiel and Skinner, it was meant to be no more years of hurt when England arrived in France for the 1998 World Cup. We would return, Jules Rimet still gleaming. Twenty-eight years on, we are still ruing that David Beckham sending off, still disillusioned by David Batty’s penalty miss, and still all-round regretting being beaten by a nation whose entire squad then dyed their hair blonde in celebration.

It was meant to be the start of a golden era for English football – and looking back, it perhaps could have been. Many of that squad went on to win the treble with Manchester United the following year. One little whizz-kid of a forward went on to be crowned World Player of the Year. There were Invincibles in that squad and world transfer record-breakers.

It all started so well. A defeat to Romania left them needing a result from the final group game. They delivered with a 2-0 win and hope was built to that now infamous Argentina game in the round of 16. Glenn Hoddle’s men were up against the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Juan Sebastian Verón and Diego Simeone, but there was a belief. It started badly, the Fiorentina man striking after five minutes. A quick-fire double from the Three Lions, including one of the greatest World Cup goals of all time from a teenage Michael Owen, and it was looking promising.

We all know the story from there. Beckham’s red card for a flick at Simeone. Ten men for the remainder of normal time and extra time. A penalty shootout, and if one team didn’t do penalties during the 1990s, it was those boys in white. Batty and Ince missed. England were out.

As England prepares for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, we want you to look back 28 years and see if you can name every member of Glenn Hoddle’s 22-man class of France 98.

England’s 1998 World Cup Squad Quiz

England’s 1998 World Cup – Key Facts

Manager: Glenn Hoddle

Group: Group G – England, Romania, Colombia, Tunisia

Results:

  • England 2-0 Tunisia (Shearer, Scholes)
  • England 1-2 Romania (Owen; Petrescu, Moldovan)
  • England 2-0 Colombia (Anderton, Beckham)
  • England 2-2 Argentina, AET – lost on penalties (Shearer pen, Owen)

Top scorers: Alan Shearer 2, Michael Owen 2, Paul Scholes 1, Darren Anderton 1, David Beckham 1

Knocked out by: Argentina, Round of 16 (penalties)

Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina – a driving run from inside his own half, beating multiple defenders before finishing – remains one of the most celebrated goals in England’s history. At 18 years and 190 days he became England’s youngest scorer at a World Cup at the time. He went on to win the Ballon d’Or in 2001.

Where Are They Now?

That 1998 squad contained players who went on to extraordinary careers. David Beckham became one of the most recognised sportsmen on the planet. Rio Ferdinand became a Champions League winner and one of the finest defenders of his generation. Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were part of the United treble-winning side just twelve months after France 98. Sol Campbell and Martin Keown were two of the Invincibles in Arsène Wenger’s unbeaten 2003-04 Arsenal side.

Gareth Southgate was in that squad as a player, having infamously missed England’s crucial penalty in the Euro 96 semi-final two years earlier. He would go on to manage England at two World Cups and a European Championship final, leaving after Euro 2024.

England World Cup 2026

With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, England head to North America under new manager Thomas Tuchel with a squad built around Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. Kane – who has nine World Cup goals across 2018 and 2022 – will captain the side as England’s all-time leading scorer with over 70 international goals.

For the latest on England’s 2026 campaign, see our England World Cup 2026 fixtures and kick-off times page.

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