Switzerland Extends France’s Drought
France still can’t score in a World Cup game.
The star-studded French team was held to a 0-0 tie by Switzerland on Tuesday in a Group G game at Stuttgart, Germany, its fourth consecutive World Cup shutout.
Thierry Henry, who led Arsenal of the English Premier League with 33 goals this season, headed one good opportunity too high and took two soft shots at goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler.
Patrick Vieira shot high and wide from good vantage points and Zuberbuehler, who had expected a busy time, made only one difficult save. Switzerland, which had not been to a World Cup in 12 years, also tied France in two qualifying games.
“We know that team all too well,” France Coach Raymond Domenech said. “It’s the sort of match we expected. We could have beaten them in the first half, they could have won the match in the second half.”
Alexander Frei had a good opportunity to win it for Switzerland when he leaped to meet a free kick from Ludovic Magnin. Instead of heading the ball, the striker tried to punch it home from about three yards and was shown a yellow card.
French players walked off in dismay at yet another World Cup disappointment to go with the losses to Senegal and Denmark and the 0-0 tie with Uruguay four years ago.
Emmanuel Petit’s last-minute strike was host France’s third in a 3-0 victory over Brazil to win the championship in 1998. It was the last goal scored by France in a World Cup.
South Korea 2, Togo 1 -- Togo lost at Frankfurt in its World Cup debut, but the Group G game was merely part of the chaos that has surrounded the team for the last several days.
Who would coach Togo was a mystery until the start of the game, when Otto Pfister appeared on the sideline.
Togo even held a lead at halftime, a remarkable feat considering the team’s off-field turmoil, including a dispute over money between players and the Togo soccer federation.
Togo played with 10 men for the last 37 minutes, allowing the South Koreans to take control. Substitute Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the winner in the 72nd minute on a 25-yard shot.
Pfister, 68, was at home in Switzerland on Monday after quitting as coach over the weekend in a show of solidarity with his players.
With Pfister back, Togo took a lead in the 31st minute when Mohammed Kader scored from 15 yards.
Then things fell apart. Jean-Paul Abalo received his second yellow card and was ejected after bringing down Park Ji-Sung just outside the penalty area in the 53rd minute. Lee Chun-Soo’s free kick soared over the defensive wall and past goalkeeper Kosi Agassa’s outstretched arm.
