 The multi-talented French side were humiliated by Papa Diop's scrambled effort
after 30 minutes and though they piled forward for the remainder of the contest
there was no way through the Senegalese defence.
It was the most stunning start to a World Cup since nine-man Cameroon defeated
Argentina 12 years ago and could have massive implications for England.
Sven Goran Eriksson's men know the top two teams in their Group F will take on
the qualifers from pool A in the last 16.
Tournament favourites France were expected to comfortably advance in top spot,
but that already looks unlikely.
Senegal's victory was based initially on the impressive efforts of striker El
Hadji Diouf, whose pace was too much for the ageing French defence, then on a
rearguard action which kept their illustrious opponents at bay even though David
Trezeguet and Thierry Henry both struck the woodwork.
Senegal's victory was even more ironic given the former French colony are in
the interesting position of having a complete squad of French-based players
while the holders' line-up contained only one man, former Chelsea defender Frank
Leboeuf, who earns his living at home. The link also extended to the seven Premiership-based Frenchmen, with Patrick
Vieira having been born in Senegal before his parents moved to Europe when the
Arsenal midfielder was just seven.
However, any sense of familiarity was quickly exploded as Diouf ran riot.
Leboeuf and his central defensive colleague Marcel Desailly were both left on
their backsides as the striker's explosive pace exposed the defensive frailties
which had not existed four years ago.
After just five minutes, Diouf shot down the right wing and squared for Fadiga
whose weak effort from the edge of the box was easily collected by Fabien
Barthez. His next run came along the left hand flank, when Lebeouf was forced to haul
him down.
In the absence of Zinedine Zidane, France were struggling badly and it took
them 15 minutes to make any impact on the stout Senegal defence and then it was
a long ball from Barthez which Trezeguet almost latched onto. Emmanuel Petit gave Henry space with a neat reverse pass and when the Arsenal
front-man slid a perfect ball into Trezeguet's path.
The Juventus man eliminated the keeper with his first-time shot, only to see
it come crashing back off the post.
Diouf did not read Khalilou Fadiga's attempted reverse pass into the penalty
area, but the striker used his pass to sweep past Leboeuf on the half hour to
set up the opening goal. In truth, the low cross was not the best but Petit slid in to get the first
touch and only succeeded in knocking it into Barthez, who inadvertently flicked
it back into the six-yard box where Diop touched it home from a sitting
position.
Youri Djorkaeff led the fightback, dropping a fantastic ball behind the
Senegalese defence which David Trezeguet could not quite reach. Tony Sylva easily saved Djorkaeff's 30-yard free-kick before the Bolton man
fired over from a similar distance.
As the half-time whistle blew, France seemed to have established a measure of
control without gaining a desperately needed equaliser, although Petit was the
first man into the book for a scything tackle on Diouf as he threatened once
more.
Aliou Cisse joined Petit in the yellow card club five minutes after the
interval when he hacked Desailly down but Senegal's resolve showed little sign
of weakening even if the tide was growing against them. Trezeguet flicked a header across goal after Lilian Thuram burst downfield,
then Henry should have done better than to head Sylvain Wiltord's deep cross
tamely over from an unmarked position at the far post. Sylva reacted quickly after a long range Djorkaeff effort had spilled from his
grasp, palming behind for a corner as Trezeguet looked to pounce.
French coach Roger Lemerre threw on Christophe Dugarry for Djorkaeff as the
game past the hour mark with his team still behind. Dugarry's first slice of the action was to volley a cross to the far post
which Trezeguet could not quite reach.
Diouf was starting to let himself down by being caught offside at regular
intervals but Fadiga took up the challenge and flashed a shot against the bar
after leaving Leboeuf stranded.
Within a minute, Henry had also hit the bar, with a delicate curling shot from
the edge of the area.
The belief seemed to visibly drain from the French side. They still pushed
forward but without any real conviction. Lebeouf's crisp 20-yard drive was easily saved by Sylva and the Senegal keeper
then parried away an injury-time drive from Henry to send his team into ecstasy
at the final whistle and leave the favourites with huge problems.
France
Barthez, Thuram, Leboeuf, Desailly, Lizarazu, Wiltord (Cisse 81), Petit, Djorkaeff (Dugarry 60), Vieira, Henry, Trezeguet.
Senegal
Sylva, Daf, Coly, Diao, Diouf, Pape Bouba Diop, Cisse, Diatta, Pape Malick Diop, Moussa N'diaye, Fadiga.
Goals: Pape Bouba Diop 30.
Att: 62,561
Referee: A Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates). |
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