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Upside down World champion France stunned by Socceroos
Updated: Saturday June 02, 2001 7:46 AM
DAEGU, South Korea (AP) -- With the second stunning upset in as many games, Australia beat world champion France 1-0 Friday on a goal from Clayton Zane to virtually guarantee a semifinals spot in the Confederations Cup. With the top stars home and the team which beat South Korea on Wednesday on the bench, France could never master the aggressiveness and sheer guts of an Aussie team which already beat defending champion Mexico 2-0 in its opener. "This is a great result. We played the world champions and would have been happy to keep the score down," said Australian coach Frank Farina. "In the second half we played exceptionally well. When we had possession, we had lots of strength and pace. We were good on the counter." Farina said he picked a lineup that was strong in midfield. "We tried to keep it very tight in midfield because against France you must do that," he said. Australia went ahead on the hour-mark when rookie goalie Gregory Coupet could only deflect a swerving free kick from Josip Skoko into the post and onrushing forward Zane latched onto the rebound to send the winner into the net. France thought it got an equalizer three minutes later but the header from rookie Frederique Nee was disallowed for offside. For most of the match, the World Cup and European champion looked sullen and never played anywhere close to its No. 1 world ranking. The Socceroos also got an outstanding save from goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer five minutes from time who miraculously clawed a looping header from Laurent Robert out off his right upper corner. Australia grew in confidence throughout the match and already had a great chance to go ahead in the 50th minute when Brett Emerton cut himself free and sent a curling left-footer past Coupet, but also just past the wrong side of the far post. It was only the second loss for France this year following a 2-1 loss to Spain in March. French coach Roger Lemerre praised the "collective spirit" of the Australian lineup and said the Socceroos had "played smart to beat us." "They played the simple game to perfection. "For France there were some players who didn't know what the international level was," Lemerre said. "The result stops us in our tracks and now we have to show discipline again." Australia has a 2-0 record with one preliminary match to play, while France was at 1-1. Mexico and South Korea, both losers in their opener, were to play later Friday to avoid early elimination. Lemerre came to South Korea without a half dozen of his top stars, including Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez and Thierry Henry. Then he insisted on resting the whole lineup which beat South Korea 5-0 on Wednesday to make sure no player would have to play three full games in just five days during preliminaries. World Cup veterans Frank Leboeuf and Christian Karembeu and Youri Djorkaeff accompanied an experimental squad where four players earned their first cap. With the Socceroos showing the aggressiveness the Koreans had lacked two days earlier, it left the French with a real game on their hands from the start. Captain Paul Okon showed the toughness to beat the French from the start There was none of the clockwork passing combinations that made France famous and there was sloppiness in defense and midfield. France's best chance came off a free kick in the 43rd minute when an unmarked Leboeuf should have slotted home after taking a cross in the goal square. Instead the Chelsea defender glanced it wide. Djorkaeff did his utmost to fire his players forward but with Australia massing back in defense, Les Bleus were left frustrated most of the match. France produced few dangers for Aussie goalie Mark Schwarzer. Nee missed the mark a few times and the Middlesbrough goalie was only seriously tested by a 35 meter drive from defender Nicolas Gillet, which he had trouble punching out. Lineups: Australia: Mark Schwarzer; Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Tony Popovic, Tony Vidmar; Brett Emerton, Steve Corica, Paul Okon, Josip Skoko (78, Marco Bresciano), Stan Lazaridis; Clayton Zane. France: Gregory Coupet; Zoumana Camara, Frank Leboeuf, Nicolas Gillet, Jeremie Brechet; Christian Karembeu, Youri Djorkaeff (87, Patrick Vieira), Olivier Dacourt (73, Robert Pires), Laurent Robert, Frederique Nee (70, Nicolas Anelka), Sylvain Wiltord.
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