He was later also part of the Brazilian squad that won both the Copa América and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, where he made six appearances in the team's run to the final, which they lost to the hosts of the tournament, France. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, he became remembered for scoring the first goal of the entire tournament in the 4th minute of Brazil's opening match against Scotland, a header from a corner by Bebeto on the left. He also scored a brace in Brazil's 4–1 victory against Chile in the round of 16 during the same tournament.