Karembeu shares his incredible World Cup journey

The FIFA Podcast catches up with 1998 World Cup winner Christian Karembeu

He reveals the personal thread between two huge France v Brazil fixtures

Watch the full interview on the FIFA Podcast

Football truly is a universal fixture. Jut ask Christian Karembeu who, as the latest guest on the FIFA Podcast, explains how the global reach of the FIFA World Cup™ extended as far as the southwest Pacific territory of New Caledonia during the Mexico 1986 competition.

As a result, it was then that the 15-year-old Karembeu sat entranced by a contest which, to this day, remains his favourite World Cup contest: France’s quarter-showpiece against Brazil. “Brazil v France in Mexico – it finished with penalty kicks,” he tells podcast presenter Mikael Silvestre. “For me, it was fantastic, like a showpiece. There are more beautiful fixtures, but this one impacted me when I was a kid.”

On the other side, karembeu, now 55, remembers competing for space in front of the communal TV set in his native New Caledonia to follow the fortunes of Michel Platini, as well as Co. As he describes to Silvestre, he watched the action not just with his family but with “the tribe”, saying: “In New Caledonia [back then] there’s one TV, and I was behind because we need to give the floor to our guests. So all of them were in front of me. I was just looking like this… ‘Who’s finding the net?’, ‘Who is doing this?’. Fantastic memories.”

Meanwhile, with New Caledonia being a French Overseas Territory, the competition captured the wider public imagination. “We all woke up – at two or three in the morning – when France were playing,” recalls Karembeu. “All the villages, all the tribes, all the cities were watching the fixture.”

How notable then to think that this star-struck kid from the South Pacific went on to appear for France against Brazil in a World Cup ‘showpiece’: the 1998 global showpiece contest, secured 3-0 by Les Bleus. Only this time, the congestion took place in the midfield areas where the now Real Madrid man vied for supremacy with the likes of Dunga, Leonardo, as well as Rivaldo.

And just as the World Cup succeeds in bringing people together across vast divides, so it inspired a wave of unity through France, according to Karembeu. “Listen, I think it was a beautiful moment for France, for our side-mates, as well as for the history books of the national side. Indeed, it was a great jubilation with our diversity in our [society].”

More from Karembeu on the FIFA Podcast

On the other side, the FIFA Podcast takes supporters to the heart of FIFA World Cup 2026™ with exclusive access, expert analysis, as well as unforgettable stories from across Canada, Mexico, as well as USA. Hosted by Christian Vieri, as well as Mikael Silvestre, the show features FIFA legends, current football stars, as well as celebrity guests reflecting on the competition’s biggest moments. From contest reactions, as well as behind-the-scenes insights to unique World Cup memories, each episode offers a fresh perspective on the beautiful fixture. New episodes are available throughout the competition on the FIFA YouTube Channel.

Listen to the latest episode of the FIFA Podcast, including Karembeu's full interview