By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports activities Soccer Author
Editor’s notice: Every day between now and the kickoff of the primary match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we’ll unveil a unique reminiscence from World Cup historical past. The countdown from 101 continues with France’s World Cup flameout.
The final time France went right into a World Cup having reached the ultimate of the earlier one, they weren’t solely eradicated within the first spherical, however misplaced all three group video games in 2002 and failed to attain a single aim.
Certainly Les Bleus couldn’t high that for an encore? They got here shut 2010. With a sometimes stacked squad, France was one of many favorites to win all of it in South Africa after shedding on penalties within the closing 4 years earlier than. For the second time in three tournaments the French imploded once more imploded as an alternative. Yanked at halftime of a bunch stage loss to Mexico, striker Nicolas Anelka cursed out coach Raymond Domenech, and was despatched residence when he refused to apologize.
Anelka’s teammates accused the French federation of leaking particulars of the incident to the media, and boycotted coaching the following day in protest, main the nationwide staff’s director to give up on the spot. The hosts would upset France 2-1 of their closing first spherical recreation, making certain their final place end in Group A. Hey, a minimum of Les Bleus managed to not go goalless once more.
One of many main soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has lined United States males’s and ladies’s nationwide groups at a number of FIFA World Cups. Earlier than becoming a member of FOX Sports activities in 2021, he was a workers author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports activities. Observe him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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