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France failed to get any momentum going in this year's World Cup games, and it finally caught up with them Tuesday afternoon in Incheon, Korea, as they were eliminated from the tournament with a 2-0 spanking at the hands, or feet, of Denmark. The Danes, meanwhile, quietly advanced to the second round and showed they will be a team to reckon with.
France, which narrowly beat Korea 3-2 in a friendly before the World Cup, finished the tournament without a single win, having tied once and lost twice, becoming the first defending champions since Brazil in 1966 to fail to advance to the second round.
While the match began with both sides getting good scoring chances, Denmark, as has been their trademark all tournament, capitalized on theirs early on, with Dennis Rommedahl putting a perfect shot by French goalkeeper Fabian Barthez at the 22 minute mark. France played desperate soccer afterward as they needed to win by two or more goals to have any chance of advancing into the second round.
But Denmark got another goal from Tomassan, his fourth of the tournament, that took the life out of the French and sealed the Danes' win.
Denmark finished atop Group A and will next play the runner-up from Group F, while Senegal, who finished 2nd in Group A after tying Uruguay Tuesday, have the formidable task of facing the winner of the "Group of Death."
(Glen Choi, glen@chosun.com )
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