Most embarrasing defeat in Fifa WC #dip Senegal embarrasses - TopicsExpress

Most embarrasing defeat in Fifa WC #dip Senegal embarrasses France in the 2002 FIFA WC Before the World Cup commenced, the stature of France was quite similar to that enjoyed by Spain today. They had conquered the 1998 WC and Euro 2000 in a dominating fashion. The array of stars they had at their disposal was mindboggling. Thuram, Viera and Desailly would have walked into any team in the world. They had the man who plucked goals out of thin air, King Thierry Henry. And then, to complete a perfect team they had Zinedine Zidane , the wizard who could create magic on the field by sheer touch. For Senegal, this was their first World Cup and the world expected nothing more of them than to be the typical punching bags that minnows are. However, Senegal had entirely different plans and looked like a team on a mission. The first omen for France was rather alarming. Zidane had withdrawn due to an injury and this meant that the entire midfield symphony would miss its conductor. Still, the rest of the team was talented enough and was expected to sail through this game. Yet, the French could only find the crossbar and not the net. The one who found the net was Senegal’s Papa Bouba Diop and he did so with style. It was enough to seal the game and left the French so deflated that they crashed out of the first round without scoring. An energised Senegal team made it to the quarterfinals, having shown the door to their former colonial masters.