UPDATE: France begins its World Cup campaign with Senegal seeking to repeat the surprise of 2002
World News Update:
Governments, analysts, and media outlets are continuing to follow this situation closely as additional details become available.
France faces this year’s World Cup as one of the main candidates for the trophy, having reached the final in the last two editions. But their rivals on Tuesday are a warning about the dangers of overconfidence. The Blues entered the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea as heavy favorites to retain the title they had won four years earlier. But, hampered by an injury to Zinedine Zidane, they suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Senegal in Seoul and never recovered: they were eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal. Didier Deschamps was captain of the 1998 and 2000 teams before retiring from international football, so he was not part of that fiasco. Almost a quarter of a century later, Deschamps is the coach and is approaching the end of a remarkable 14-year spell in charge: the 57-year-old will step down after the World Cup. He knows that how his team of superstars approaches its first game at MetLife Stadium, with the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the distance, will be crucial. “The first match is very important, but it is not decisive. Starting with a victory in a group of four teams is ideal and is always the goal,” Deschamps told reporters at the stadium on Monday. “But there is something that we cannot measure or quantify: the emotional aspect. Some players can become tense because of the atmosphere surrounding the game.” “The ideal is to be focused, but also relaxed,” he added, describing Senegal as a “very, very high-level” rival. France arrived at their base in Boston last Wednesday after beating Northern Ireland 3-1 in their final warm-up match, in which Michael Olise scored a hat trick. However, they received a warning a few days earlier when they suffered their only defeat of the last year: a 2-1 loss at home to Ivory Coast. France has reached the final in four of the last seven World Cups, with two titles and two other losses on penalties. Champion in Russia 2018, it was beaten by Argentina in a penalty shootout in Qatar 2022. A formidable offensive fleet Since then, new faces have joined, among them the brilliant Olise, a Bayern Munich winger born in London, who aims to play as number 10. He is part of a fearsome offensive trio, with Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, from Paris Saint-Germain, on the right, and captain Kylian Mbappé as spearhead. The Real Madrid forward, who would play his 99th game for the national team against Senegal, is tied with Pelé as the sixth top scorer of all time in the World Cup, with 12 goals. Only Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo Nazário, Gerd Müller, Just Fontaine and Lionel Messi have more. Mbappé scored four goals in 2018 and eight in 2022, including a hat trick in the final. Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise are the stars of the French team. © Studio graphique FMM France’s many attacking options also include Rayan Cherki, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maghnes Akliouche. They also have a formidable centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano, as well as a powerful midfield led by Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni. “This is my second World Cup. In 2018 everything was new and it was beautiful to win it. This time it is different,” said N’Golo Kanté, the 35-year-old midfielder who is one of three members of the team that played in the final in Russia and who are present here. “We have new players, but it’s still just as beautiful. And I really want to enjoy it to the fullest and win again.” As one of the four highest-ranked teams, France were seeded in the draw, but their path to the final rounds will not be easy. They must first overcome the match against Senegal, before facing Iraq, considered a team with few options, and then face Erling Haaland’s Norway: a difficult Group I in which complacency could pay dearly. Senegal, which was controversially stripped of its African Cup of Nations title earlier this year, is hungry to prove itself as the continent’s true champions as African football gains ground on the world’s biggest stage following Morocco’s historic semi-final appearance four years ago. “African football has changed a lot in recent years. We saw it in the last World Cup… it’s no longer a surprise,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, who was a substitute player when the Teranga Lions achieved their famous victory 24 years ago. And he added: “Would it be a surprise if Senegal beats France? Well, no, because we have world-class players.” This is an adaptation of its original in English
What Happens Next:
Experts suggest the long-term impact of these developments may become clearer as more information emerges.
Political and economic analysts are paying close attention to the potential consequences of these events.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing international story.
Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Noticias y actualidad internacional en vivo and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.