FRANCE MAY have finally scored a goal in the World Cup, though their ultimate objective remains elusive. With the country clamouring for a performance of real authority Les Bleus again disappointed, conceding a late equaliser to Park Ji Sung that leaves South Korea in charge of group G. On a cool evening in Leipzig not even the beating heat of the day could be blamed.
Raymond Domenech, the coach, remains in denial about the extent of his side’s decline, though inadvertently hinted at its cause by chastising his players’ lack of stamina. Old heads are not always enough to outwit younger legs.
France’s misery was compounded by a late booking for Zinédine Zidane which rules him out of their final match against Togo on his 34th birthday, raising the prospect that one of the all-time greats will never again grace a World Cup stage. France can still qualify but may be dependent on help from others and the route thereafter looks perilous, with Spain likely to greet this group’s runners-up in the next round.
“You must be a pessimist but I’m an optimist,” said Domenech, when asked whether Zidane had played his last World Cup match. “I was very disappointed as we couldn’t carry on to the end the way we started at the beginning. It’s difficult to see why. We have to win our next match if we want to go through. We have to win by a certain number of goals. We will be dependent on other teams which is very disappointing for a team of our quality.”
If Zidane has won the last of his 101 caps then he deserved a better send-off, with the man himself appearing to agree. When France’s captain was substituted in stoppage time he threw his armband on the floor and pointedly failed to return his coach’s offer of a hand-shake. Zidane has become a symbol of France’s demise, a once great player whose mind is willing but body all-too weak. Despite dominating for much of the match they failed to hold on, though Thierry Henry rightly railed that a good goal scored by Patrick Vieira in the 31st minute was disallowed by Benito Archundia. “The ball was clearly over the line and everyone could see it except the referee,” Henry said.
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Having waited eight years and four matches for a World Cup goal Henry provided one after nine minutes, but that was as good as it got for France. The goal could have been scored by Arsenal four years ago, with Vieira releasing Sylvain Wiltord whose mis-hit shot fortuitously found its way to Henry, who managed to produce a calmer finish with his left foot.
Buoyed by the rare sight of a rippling net France continued to press for a second, and should have had one before the end of the first half, Zidane heading wide from a corner before teeing up Vieira, whose header appeared to be carried over the line by Lee Woon Jae.
If the passage of time has damaged France then South Korea have also declined dramatically in recent years after reaching the semi-finals in 2002. Surprisingly for a side of small stature, their only real opportunities came in the air, William Gallas heading nervously over his own bar following a long ball from Kim Young Chul and Cho Jae Jin just failing to connect with Lee Chun Soo’s free kick when unmarked in the penalty area.
For much of the second half France were little better and were punished for their lethargy. Seol Ki Hyeon’s cross from the right byline in the 81st minute was headed back across goal by Cho Jae Jin, with Park Ji Sung proving a close-range finish. “If we play our best we can go anywhere, like in 2002,” he said.
If such optimism was far-fetched than France’s glory days are also a distant memory.