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France latest victim of Cup upset

Updated: Friday May 31, 2002 11:46 a.m. ET
 
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SEOUL (Reuters) -- World champion France's surprise defeat to Senegal in the opening match of the World Cup finals was the latest in a list of major shocks at the finals.

Previous upsets include:

1950 -- England 0, United States 1 in Belo Horizonte.

Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal in the 38th minute. Only one American reporter, who happened to be on holiday in Brazil, covered this match and the result was such a surprise in the United Kingdom, one London editor decided the score must have been 10-1 to England.

1966 -- Italy 0, North Korea 1 in Middlesborough.

Italy went out to a Park Doo-ik goal in the 42nd minute and the team were later pelted with tomatoes when they returned home. North Korea looked like repeating the feat in the quarterfinals when they went 3-0 up to Portugal but Eusebio took control and scored four times in a 5-3 victory, one of the most amazing games in World Cup history.

1974 -- West Germany 0, East Germany 1 in Hamburg.

Hosts West Germany were expected to humiliate their state "amateur" neighbors but were shocked by a Juergen Sparwasser goal in the 74th minute. The West Germans recovered to win the tournament.

1982 -- West Germany 1, Algeria 2 in Gijon.

Lakhdar Belloumi scored the winner in the 69th minute of a game most noted for an abject performance by the Germans, who later went on to reach the final. Algeria, who also beat Chile, were denied a place in the next round by the infamous West Germany-Austria final group game in the same stadium. Neither team tried to score after Horst Hrubesch gave the Germans an early lead and the 1-0 result allowed both West Germany and Austria to advance on goal difference at Algeria's expense.

1990 -- Argentina 0, Cameroon 1 in Milan.

Argentina suffered the fate destined for France 12 years later, opening the tournament as world champions with a match against an African team and losing 1-0. Francois Omam Biyick scored the only goal in the 67th minute and the Africans held on to win after finishing with nine men following two red cards.

1994 -- Belgium 0, Saudi Arabia 1 in Washington.

Khamis Al-Owairan's goal in the fifth minute was stunning in itself. He took the ball from well inside his own half, beat several Belgians and fired home an unstoppable shot. Saudi Arabia became the first Asian team to reach the second round.

2002 -- France 0, Senegal 1 in Seoul.

The humbling of the world champions was made worse by the fact that three French players touched the ball but failed to clear it before Pape Bouba Diop scored the winner in the 30th minute. Unfancied Senegal were making their World Cup debut.

Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

 


 
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