2002 FIFA World Cup (tm) Finals - Results & Fixtures - Denmark vs France

11 Jun 2002


Denmark	2 - 0	France
	(HT: 1 - 0)

Game Details
Venue Incheon Munhak Stadium	Attendance 48100
Referee Vitor Melo Pereira (POR) Assistant Referees Carlos Matos (POR) Elise Domiri (VAN)

Game Events
#	Date	Player	Event	Period	Mins	H/A
1	11 Jun 2002	Christophe Dugarry	Yellow Card	First Half	8	A
2	11 Jun 2002	Dennis Rommedahl	Goal	First Half	22	H
3	11 Jun 2002	Christian Poulsen	Yellow Card	First Half	27	H
4	11 Jun 2002	Martin Jorgensen	Player Out	Second Half	1	H
5	11 Jun 2002	Jesper Gronkjaer	Substitute In	Second Half	1	H
6	11 Jun 2002	Christophe Dugarry	Player Out	Second Half	9	A
7	11 Jun 2002	Djibril Cisse	Substitute In	Second Half	9	A
8	11 Jun 2002	Jon Dahl Tomasson	Goal	Second Half	22	H
9	11 Jun 2002	Patrick Vieira	Player Out	Second Half	26	A
10	11 Jun 2002	Johan Micoud	Substitute In	Second Half	26	A
11	11 Jun 2002	Niclas Jensen	Yellow Card	Second Half	26	H
12	11 Jun 2002	Christian Poulsen	Player Out	Second Half	31	H
13	11 Jun 2002	Kaspar Bogelund	Substitute In	Second Half	31	H
14	11 Jun 2002	Stig Tofting	Player Out	Second Half	34	H
15	11 Jun 2002	Brian Steen Nielsen	Substitute In	Second Half	34	H
16	11 Jun 2002	Sylvain Wiltord	Player Out	Second Half	38	A
17	11 Jun 2002	Youri Djorkaeff	Substitute In	Second Half	38	A

Match report

Defending champions France were sent spinning to a shock first-round exit at the World Cup after slumping to a 2-0 defeat against Denmark. Goals from Denmark's Dennis Rommedahl and Jon Dahl-Tomasson spelt disaster for France, who became the first reigning champions to be eliminated in the first phase since Brazil in 1966. France, the pre-tournament favourites, had recalled injured midfield superstar Zinedine Zidane for a match that they needed to win by a two-goal margin to reach the last 16 from Group A. But Zidane and the rest of the star-studded French squad were left shell-shocked midway through the first half when Rommedahl's goal on 22 minutes fired Denmark into the lead. As France rallied for an equaliser in the second half they got caught on the break and AC Milan-bound Tomasson was on hand to side-foot home his fourth goal of the tournament on 67 minutes to make it safe.
Afterwards dejected France coach Roger Lemerre admitted his side deserved to be knocked out.
"You have to tell it like it is .. we failed to get to grips with this edition of the World Cup. We just weren't up to it," Lemerre said after his side finished bottom of Group A. Denmark and Senegal advanced at their expense.
"There's nothing to say - we don't deserve to qualify for the last 16.
"We still had a small chance (of qualifying) today. We tried to play to our full potential and I can't blame anyone in particular.
"We have to accept the defeat," Lemerre said, adding that the problems had started with France's opening match 1-0 defeat to Senegal.
"You have to show up on the first day (match).
"If you can't do that then you're going to be in trouble. To tell you the truth here in Korea we had a lot of little knocks and bumps which meant that we were never really at 100 percent."
Denmark coach Morten Olsen, whose side will now play either England, Argentina or Sweden in the second round, praised his side's organisation in defence.
"It was a very difficult group especially after France lost the first game and we saw the quality of Uruguay and Senegal," Olsen said.
"We had a good day, the team played well and with a lot of confidence and discipline. We had to be well organised but I thought we played some good football," he added.
France's elimination brings to an end an unprecedented era of success for 'Les Bleus', World Cup winners in 1998 and European Champions in 2000. The holders had been left in dire straits after losing their opening match 1-0 to Senegal, followed by a goalless draw with Uruguay. The absence through suspension of striker Thierry Henry and midfielder Emmanuel Petit further hampered their chances of getting the result needed against Denmark. In sweltering afternoon heat at Incheon's Munhak Stadium, the Danes seldom troubled goalkeeper Fabien Barthez throughout the 90 minutes, as France dominated both possession and territory. But Lemerre saw his side's hopes snuffed out by a magnificent Danish midfield display. Stringing a thin red line across the middle of the pitch and dropping deep to defend in numbers whenever France had possession, Denmark simply smothered the life out of their opponents. Everton midfielder Thomas Gravesen and Bolton Wanderers' hardman Stig Tofting put in towering performances, tackling tigerishly and harrassing the French midfield into giving the ball away cheaply. France pressed desperately for an equaliser after half-time, skipper Marcel Desailly hitting the bar with a header early on and Sylvain Wiltord and David Trezeguet both going close. France substitute Djibril Cisse saw a spectacular late effort squirt out of Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen's grasp and trickle past the post. When Trezeguet thumped a close-range shot against the underside of the cross bar it summed up France's day. Earlier, Denmark had taken the lead after a sloppy piece of play by France's defence when they failed to deal with an unpromising Danish attack. The ball rolled to Tofting on the edge of the area, and he had all the time in the world to float a pinpoint cross to the back post, where Rommedahl's shot on the half-volley gave Barthez no chance. Zidane, with heavy-strapping on his injured left thigh, had one agonising half-chance on 36 minutes when his exquisite curled chip from outside the area went inches wide with Sorensen beaten.
Trezeguet also raised French hopes, testing Sorensen with an early shot after being put through by Wiltord. Trezeguet also went close with a header after half an hour. Yet despite dominating possession, France were unable to penetrate Denmark's rugged midfield, with Gravesen working tirelessly to harry the French. Wiltord lashed in a low effort from outside the area just before half-time, but Sunderland keeper Sorensen got down smartly to save.

(courtesy of dailysoccer)




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Page created by Christakis Ioannou on 11 June 2002 23:11:08.