As the 2026 World Cup approaches and a first match against Senegal for the France team, our podcast
Golazo looks back at the Blues fiasco at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. It was humiliation for the team led by Roger Lemerre, 1998 world champion and 2000 European champion, but eliminated in the first round after an opening defeat against the Senegalese (0-1), a draw against Uruguay (0-0) and a setback against Denmark (0-2).
Zinedine Zidane’s muscle injury during a friendly match against the South Koreans – just four days after his arrival in Seoul and five days before facing the Teranga Lions – was devastating. Roger Lemerre trusted Youri Djorkaeff, 34, at the expense of Johan Micoud, author of a bad season with Parma, and while the notable absence from the group of 23 was precisely a playmaker, in this case Eric Carrière! “Zizou” resumed for the third meeting against the Danes without managing to save France.
A casino and a night bar in the Hôtel des Bleus…
The rout of captain Marcel Desailly and his teammates is immortalized in Eyes in the Blues 3much less interesting than the mythical Eyes in the Blues from 1998. What we don’t see in the documentary is the life of the French players in their hotel in Seoul, a huge complex with restaurants, bars but also a casino and a night bar! The French delegation privatized two floors but the journalists from The Team and of Parisian had the good idea of staying in this same establishment. For example, they met Johan Micoud at the casino on the eve of France-Uruguay, even though Roger Lemerre had not informed him of his start for the match.
Other players from the French team took full advantage of the services of the Sheraton hotel, including the “fun bar” open until 2 a.m. A music group from Bulgaria, with two dancers, performed every evening. “They came every evening. The girls have a lot of memories with them”thus launch the leader of the group Parisiantwo weeks after the departure of the 98 world champions. The South Korean bartender testifies to the presence of the players until closing. However, we do not know if these were the star players of the Blues or the replacements who did not play any minutes such as Grégory Coupet, Philippe Christanval, Mikaël Silvestre, Willy Sagnol and Alain Boghossian.
The French team’s sidelines against Senegal at the 2002 World Cup.
