France went into World Cup 2002 as most people's favourites to take the trophy back to Paris. They were the reigning world champions following victory on home soil in '98, and had followed it up by winning Euro 2000 and the Confederations Cup in 2001. Their squad was full of world class quality: Barthez, Thuram, Desailly, Vieira, Trezeguet, Henry, and of course, Zinedine Zidane. Who could stop them? Well, Senegal, for one. France's former colony stunned the world and European champions with a 1-0 victory in the tournament's opening game that made El-Hadji Diouf a household name. Zidane was injured for that one and the second game, a 0-0 draw with Uruguay that saw Thierry Henry sent off. Their talisman returned for the final group game with France's hopes of staying in the competition hanging by a thread. Zidane could not save them, though, and they lost 2-0 to eventual group winners Denmark. They were the first champions to go out in the first round since Brazil way back in 1966, and didn't even manage to find the net. It was not a tournament for Zidane - or anyone in a France shirt - to be proud of.
David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990
