Photo Gallery Sacre Les Bleus!
France was officially bounced from the World Cup in South Africa on Tuesday as Les Bleus lost 1:2 to the host nation. It's the second time in the past three World Cups that the national team hasn't made it out of group play. This year's campaign was marked by scandal, poor play and ultimately embarrassment.
France played Uruguay to a listless, scoreless draw in their opening match. Former French international star and legend Zinedine Zidane was highly critical of their play: "The hardest thing is that there is no teamwork," Zidane said on French TV, according to the Associated Press. "The players must take responsibility for themselves."
Controversy followed France from the beginning. The team qualified for the tournament only after star striker Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up an added-time score that put France through against Ireland. Even a majority of French citizens polled said they supported France voluntarily pulling out of the World Cup because of the illegal goal. Here, a TV grab of the the play.
French players found trainer Raymond Domenech incompetent, while fans and journalists considered him vain and smug. Here, midfielder Florent Malouda seems to embody the exasperation and frustration of the French team and fans in their second match, against Mexico.
Mexico outclassed France 2:0 on June 17 in Polokwane, South Africa. By then, the team had descended into chaos. At halftime, star striker Nicolas Anelka insulted Domenech. Anelka's words were eventually leaked to the French press.
Domenech gave Anelka the opportunity to apologize, but the striker refused, and the French Football Federation sent the top player home. Domenech was a lame-duck coach before the tournament started. Laurent Blanc, who helped France win the 1998 World Cup, will take over the national squad.
Anelka, who plays for the English club Chelsea, returned to London on Monday. His team mates publicly stood by the banned striker.
On Sunday the French team refused to train. Here, the team's captain Patrice Evra (l) walks away during an argument with fitness coach Robert Duverne, (2nd r), before the start of what was supposed to be a training session. Domenech called the strike "an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name."
French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot met with the team on Monday and said that she reduced the team to tears. In a speech to the team, Bachelot said: "It's your kids, our children, for whom perhaps you will no longer be heroes. It is the dreams of your partners, your friends, your fans that you have perhaps broken. You have tarnished the image of France."
French supporters were equally critical. "I'm sickened, disgusted," said fan Alain Le Prince, in a crowd of thousands who watched the match in Paris. "Everyone is laughing at us." Here, in Paris, a supporter holds his nose watching France's final match against South Africa on Tuesday.
The host nation beat France 2:1. France finished at the bottom of Group A, managing only a single point.
In Paris, loud cheers could be heard amid the gasps when South Africa scored. "It's funny. France is worthless," said Victor Malamoud, 17, in Paris. Here, French supporters show their disappointment watching the game outside in Paris.
