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Post Draw: Quotes and Analysis |
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France (FRA) |
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Coach: Roger Lemerre
The first round of the World Cup is a mini-league and thus very difficult. We will be facing Denmark again - a good team. The match against Senegal will not be easy, particularly since it will be the opener, making it even more tough. Senegal is a French-speaking country coached by Bruno Metsu, a Frenchman, so it will be a specail match for us. You could call it a match between Frenchmen who play abroad and Senegalese who play in France! This makes it easier for me to scout them. Uruguay is an enigma. Suth American football is very different from ours. It’s not an advantage to be the favourites - the real advantage is to have a strong, committed team. But who knows what will happen? Whoever qualifies from group F will provide formidable opposition for us in the last 16.
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Senegal
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Coach: Bruno Metsu
We are not going to this World Cup just for the hell of it - we’re going there to progress as far as we
can. We will be going all out for second place, since France are favourites for top spot. I can’t say now
whether we will be able to pull off a surprise, but what I do know is we have nothing to lose and
nothing to be afraid of, since we are the minnows of the group.
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Uruguay (URU) |
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Coach: Víctor Púa
Group A will be a very challenging and competitive one. Each team is strong - France, of course, because they are the winners of the last World Cup and Senegal are not to be overlooked either, since many of them play in French clubs. However, the toughest adversary will be Denmark, even though they are nowhere near as strong as they were in Mexico.
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Denmark (DEN) |
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Coach: Morten Olsen
All the groups are difficult. These are the best teams in the world, and France is one of the best of the best, and they are the favourite in the group. Senegal is a young and exciting team and Uruguay is always strong in defence. We recently played France in a friendly and they were in our group in 1998 and at EURO 2000, so we know them well. We’re an outsider in this group and it will be tough.
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Group Analysis:
France and Denmark are becoming fast friends, having been drawn in the same group at the last FIFA World Cup finals in France in 1998. Both teams had already qualified for the second round, but the match was nonetheless keenly contested, with the hosts and future champions defeating the Danes 2-1, thanks to Emmanuel Petit's first goal in international football and a Youri Djorkaeff penalty.
Youri's father Jean was part of the French squad 35 years ago which took on Uruguay back in 1966 in England. The South Americans (who are back at the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1990), came out on top 2-1 in a first round group game.
Denmark and Uruguay have also met once in FIFA World Cup competition, at Mexico 86. In a cracking game, the Scandinavians crushed Uruguay 6-1, with Preben-Elkjaer Larsen notching a hat-trick.
The opening match of this 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan will almost be a family affair. French star Patrick Vieira was born in Senegal, whilst the Africans have a French coach (Bruno Metsu) and a number of internationals who ply their trade in the French league, such as Elhadji Diouf, Pape Sarr and Ferdinand Coly.
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