Group A was one of eight groups at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

. It consisted of defending champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, two-time winners

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and debutants

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

. The group's first match was played on 31 May 2002 and the last on 11 June 2002. From the outset, it was apparent that the group would not pan out as expected, as Senegal beat France 1–0 in the opening match of the tournament. France followed this with a goalless draw against Uruguay, in a match in which their star striker

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

was sent off, before rounding out the group with another defeat to Denmark. Senegal's other two matches finished as draws, including a well-earned point against Denmark and a bad-tempered game against Uruguay, in which 12 players were booked. Denmark started the group well, beating Uruguay in

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

, before a late Senegalese equaliser in Daegu prevented them from qualifying for the round of 16 with a match to spare. Instead, they were forced to play France, knowing that a draw would see them through to the next round. They won 2–0 and finished top of the group thanks to Senegal's draw with Uruguay. Dark horses Uruguay never really got going, with their high point being a goalless draw with a sub-par French side. They did manage to put three goals past Senegal in a high-scoring draw, but their loss to Denmark in their opening match had dashed any hopes they may have had of reaching the next round.

Standings

*Denmark advanced to play England (runner-up of Group F) in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. *Senegal advanced to play Sweden (winner of Group F) in the

Matches

''All times are local (

UTC+9 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time wit ...

)''

France vs Senegal

Uruguay vs Denmark

Denmark vs Senegal

France vs Uruguay

Denmark vs France

Senegal vs Uruguay

External links

Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Group A A France at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Denmark at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Uruguay at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Senegal at the 2002 FIFA World Cup