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Les Bleus on red alert France's chances hit by 0-0 draw against UruguayPosted: Thursday June 06, 2002 7:00 AMUpdated: Thursday June 06, 2002 10:54 AM
PUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) -- France's World Cup hopes were left hanging by a thread on Thursday as, playing with 10 men for almost an hour after Thierry Henry was sent off, they were held to the tournament's first 0-0 draw by Uruguay. (Match analysis.) The defending champions, who lost their opening group A game to Senegal, must now beat Denmark by two goals in their final match to be sure of reaching the second round and avoid becoming the first defending champions to be eliminated in the first round since 1966. Denmark and Senegal lead the group on four points apiece, with Uruguay ahead of France on goals scored on a point each. Despite losing Henry for a two-footed lunge on Marcelo Romero, the French, again without injured playmaker Zinedine, created several chances as they dominated the last half hour but could not find a way through. "All of France saw the team gave everything it had, with 10 players against 11," said coach Roger Lemerre. "There is still hope. We are going to have to play a good match against Denmark, but it is possible."
Uruguay, who lost their opening game 2-1 to Denmark, also missed some great opportunities and must now beat Senegal to create a possible log-jam in the group on four points. It all went wrong for France from even before kick-off when Zidane, who missed the 1-0 defeat by Senegal with a torn thigh muscle, was not even named among the substitutes. After 16 minutes they lost center back Frank Leboeuf to a groin injury, coach Roger Lemerre bringing on Vincent Candela at right back and pushing Lilian Thuram into the middle. Despite their problems, France looked lively in the opening period with David Trezeguet twice denied good opportunities by tight offside decisions and Sylvain Wiltord dangerous on the right. The next blow, however, was the worst as Henry was sent off for an uncharacteristic over-the-top challenge. Two minutes later Urugauy went desperately close to opening the scoring when Thuram deflected an Alvaro Recoba shot, forcing Fabien Barthez into an excellent reaction save with his feet. Uruguay keeper Fabian Carini was also nearly called into action when Emmanuel Petit's free kick hit the outside of the post in the 34th minute. Petit ended the first half with a booking, his second of the tournament, ruling him out of the Denmark game.
Recoba missed a glorious chance for Uruguay in the 52nd minute when after Barthez had charged out and missed the ball, the striker shooting into the side netting with the empty goal gaping. Sebastian Abreu also wasted two good chances while Carini denied Trezeguet as the game swung from end to end. France continued to press and Carini saved well from Johan Micoud and Vieira. Lemerre: There's still hope for FranceChampions France still have a chance of reaching the second round of the World Cup despite a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, coach Roger Lemerre said on Thursday. "There's still a little hope. We will need to play a great match against Denmark but it's still possible," he said after 10-man France failed to score for the second game running. "I compliment all my players, they did all they could," said Lemerre. "It's a pity that once again we failed to score but France is not eliminated. Today with 10 men we were still able to resist Uruguay. "It was a handicap [having 10 men] but we were well-organized and we adapted well tactically. But 10 could have become nine if there had been an injury so I was not able to use the substitutes I wanted. I had to be very cautious. "We were expecting a lot from this game, especially grabbing some points. We have only snatched one." Lemerre said playmaker Zinedine Zidane, who missed both France's opening games through injury, will make up his own mind whether he can play against Denmark. "[Zinedine] Zidane was absent and his talents are admired by the whole world, but the players who have replaced him have done their best and they don't have to be ashamed. "He is running now, he gets better by the day and I hope he will be able to play soon. He will decide. "Now we will have to beat Denmark by a difference of two goals. We will have to rely on goal difference as Uruguay are in the same situation as us while Senegal and Denmark are on four points. "We will have to do something great against the Danes." France could become the first defending champions to be eliminated in the first round since 1966. Zidane still missing with injuryIn a blow to France's World Cup hopes, star player Zinedine Zidane was left out of the defending champions' lineup for a key game against Uruguay. It was the second straight match the playmaker was to miss because of a thigh injury. He sat out the opening game against Senegal, and France lost 1-0. Zidane was labeled "not present" in the French start list, meaning he cannot come on as a substitute. French coach Roger Lemerre had said the player would decide on the day of the match whether he felt fit enough to play Uruguay. France has no points and if it loses against Uruguay, it will be eliminated from the World Cup. No titleholder has exited the tournament in the first round since Brazil in 1966. Lemerre started midfielder Johan Micoud in Zidane's place. Micoud, who plays for Parma and is aged 28, has only 14 previous France caps, compared to Zidane's 74. Youri Djorkaeff, who took Zidane's spot in the lineup against Senegal but failed to impress, was left on the bench. Lemerre did not bring in a third defensive midfielder, as some had expected. Uruguayan coach Victor Pua made two changes to the lineup that lost 2-1 to Denmark in the team's opening game. In defense, Alejandro Lembo replaced Gustavo Mendez, who was booked against Denmark, and in midfield Marcelo Romero took the start instead of Gianni Guigou. Summary:France 0 Uruguay 0 - result World Cup, group A Red card: France - Thierry Henry 25 Yellow cards: France - Emmanuel Petit 45 Uruguay - Pablo Garcia 11, Sebastian Abreu 45, Marcelo Romero 45, Dario Silva 48 Attendance: 38,070 Teams: France (4-2-3-1): 16-Fabien Barthez; 3-Bixente Lizarazu, 8-Marcel Desailly, 15-Lillian Thuram, 18-Frank Leboeuf (2-Vincent Candela); 4-Patrick Vieira, 17-Emmanuel Petit; 11-Sylvan Wiltord (21-Christophe Dugarry 90), 22-Johan Micoud, 12-Thierry Henry; 20-David Trezeguet (9-Djibril Cisse 81). Uruguay: (4-3-3) 1-Fabian Carini; 3-Alejandro Lembo, 4-Paolo Montero, 6-Dario Rodriguez (7-Gianni Guigou 72), 14-Gonzalo Sorondo; 5-Pablo Garcia, 8-Gustavo Varela, 16-Marcelo Romero (22-Gonzalo de los Santos 71); 9-Dario Silva (11-Federico Magallanes 60), 13-Sebastian Abreu, 20-Alvaro Recoba Match referee: Felipe Ramos Rizo (Mexico) Linesmen: Vladimir Fernandez (El Salvador), Curtis Charles (Antigua)
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