Chilavert was voted
World Goalkeeper of the Year by the
IFFHS in 1995, 1997, and 1998. He was sent off alongside
Faustino Asprilla in the qualifiers, in which Asprilla had to convince a hitman to not murder Chilavert afterwards. Chilavert participated in the
1998 World Cup, where he became the first goalkeeper ever to take a direct free kick in the World Cup finals, almost scoring against
Bulgaria. With two clean sheets in the first round, he helped take Paraguay to the round of sixteen, where the team lost to
France on a
golden goal scored by
Laurent Blanc. Chilavert had made boasts about being the Cup's best goalkeeper before the tournament, Chilavert refused to take part in the
1999 Copa América, angering the Paraguayan government, as he claimed funding should be used for education. FIFA gave Chilavert a four-game suspension (later reduced to three) for spitting on
Brazil's
Roberto Carlos at the conclusion of a
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification game. As a result, he watched Paraguay's first game of the 2002 World Cup against
South Africa from the stands. Chilavert accused Roberto Carlos of racism and of making obscene gestures during the match. He also justified his action by saying he had been provoked by the Brazilians, who had called him the weakest link of Paraguay before the match, and also claimed the match was like a war and that Brazil should return land to Paraguay lost in the
War of the Triple Alliance in the 19th century. He also expressed great confidence in the ability of the Paraguayan team and downplayed his role on the team. During the World Cup, Chilavert made an error against
Spain on
Morientes' 2–1 goal as Paraguay lost 3–1. Chilavert almost redeemed himself later with a good free kick attempt, but the shot was saved by
Casillas. Before the match, Chilavert had vowed to score against Spain if Paraguay got a free kick "within range". Before the last match in the group stage, Paraguay had to beat
Slovenia and Spain had to beat South Africa, with a combined margin of three goals, for Paraguay to go through to the last 16. The match started badly for Paraguay, with
Carlos Paredes sent off in the 21st minute, and continued with
Milenko Ačimovič taking the lead for the Slovenians right before half-time after Chilavert failed to grip the ball and allowed it to slip between his legs into the goal. But Paraguay – inspired by substitutes
Nelson Cuevas and
Jorge Campos – recovered to defeat Slovenia 3–1, scoring three times in the last 25 minutes, and when Spain also defeated South Africa 3–2, that victory meant that Paraguay was through to the next round, where they would play
Germany. In their second-round match against Germany, despite several saves from Chilavert, Paraguay lost 1–0, courtesy of a late
Oliver Neuville goal. In total, Chilavert earned 74 international caps for Paraguay and achieved a goalkeeper record of eight international goals. He retired from international football in 2003. ==Retirement and post-career==