Goal chances came and goal chances went. But two of the world’s highest ranked teams—with some of football’s highest paid players—couldn’t get the ball into the net. And they were playing against sides that only just made it to the World Cup.
With two defeats, one draw and no goals, France collected its newest title since rising to the top of the game four years ago: The worst defending champion in World Cup history.
"I’m very disappointed, and it’s the end of a beautiful story," said a French striker David Trezeguet. "The story began in 1998 and ended today against Denmark. "
France won the 2000 European Championships and was ranked the best team on the planet before the World Cup.
Besides the goalposts and crossbars seeming to be against this unlucky team, France’s game plan has been the same for four years so opponents know it by heart.
Senegal, an African team playing in its first World Cup, surprised everyone by beating France in the opening World Cup match before entering the second round successfully. Uruguay and Denmark followed a similar strategy to stop France, creating a defensive barrier and launching many counter attacks.
Following France, Argentina became the second big name to take an early plane home from this year’s World Cup.
The South Americans were expected to become world champions for a third time. This was particularly because of an impressive display when they lost just one of their 18 qualifying matches.
The team’s 1-0 loss to England on June 7 was the beginning of a nightmare for the players. But even after this surprising defeat, they never thought that they would be going home so soon.
But a 1-1 draw in Argentina’s final group match against Sweden made the unexpected a reality.