SOUTH KOREA: ZINEDINE ZIDANE HOPES TO PLAY IN FRANCE- DENMARK WORLD CUP GAME AFTER INJURY TO THIGH MUSCLE
Record ID:
640567
SOUTH KOREA: ZINEDINE ZIDANE HOPES TO PLAY IN FRANCE- DENMARK WORLD CUP GAME AFTER INJURY TO THIGH MUSCLE
- Title: SOUTH KOREA: ZINEDINE ZIDANE HOPES TO PLAY IN FRANCE- DENMARK WORLD CUP GAME AFTER INJURY TO THIGH MUSCLE
- Date: 10th June 2002
- Summary: INCHON, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 10, 2002) (REUTERS) ZINEDINE ZIDANE WITH FRENCH TEAM TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (French) COACH ROGER LEMERRE SAYS IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION ABOUT ZIDANE'S ABIBILITY TO PLAY IN THE NEXT MATCH: "Quite possible, but there is no decision on this at the moment" LEMERRE CONTINUES "I will consult Doctor Ferret and it's up to him to give the information" (SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM CAPTAIN MARCEL DESAILLY SAYING "For sure if he's there it will be something more. Maybe it will not be the player who will make the difference but the fact that he's playing then maybe it will damage - maybe they will concentrate, they will put two players on him and maybe we will have other opportunities to score. That's the difference with having Zidane there." VARIOUS DANISH TEAM TRAIN Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 25th June 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: INCHON, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA548PAQS1FW5RPLW4SAQAUPMSW
- Story Text: Zinedine Zidane still looks almost certain to play for the first time at the World Cup finals in France's crucial clash against Denmark on Tuesday (June 11) although team coach Roger Lemerre remains as cryptic as ever about the playmaker's readiness.
France are still waiting for the green light from their team doctor before deciding whether playmaker Zinedine Zidane can start Tuesday's group A match against Denmark, said coach Roger Lemerre.
"No decision has been taken yet," Lemerre told a press conference on Monday (June 10). "I will consult Doctor Ferret and it's up to him to give the information", Lemerre added.
The inspirational midfielder tore his left thigh muscle during a warm-up friendly against World Cup co-hosts South Korea in Suwon on May 26.
He resumed training with his team mates on Saturday and French team doctor Jean-Marcel Ferret said he had a good chance of playing against Denmark.
Zidane trained normally at their Inchon training ground on Monday and did not seem to be bothered by the injury.
Lemerre has always been reluctant to provide any details about his strategy and even the players have to wait for the morning of the match to know who is in the starting team.
France badly missed Zidane in their first two games as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Senegal in the opening game of the tournament on May 31 and drew 0-0 with Uruguay last week.
They are bottom of their group with just one point and have to beat the Danes by a two-goal margin to be sure of reaching the last 16.
France will be without Thierry Henry following his red card in the draw with Senegal while Emmanuel Petit also serves a one-match ban having been booked in both France games at this tournament.
France have woefully underperformed so far and now face something of a mountain to climb as they need to win by two clear goals to qualify for the knockout stages.
Having so far failed to score a single goal, the signs are not good. In fact, France could become only the second defending champions to fail to hit the net following Brazil's tournament blank in 1974.
Denmark coach Morten Olsen believes the heat and humidity in South Korea could affect his players' performances against France.
Denmark currently lead Group A with four points - whereas current holders France have just one point going into Tuesday's crunch encounter.
After Denmark's match with Senegal - which was also played in the afternoon - team doctor Mogens Kreutzfeldt revealed the players had lost four litres of water on average during the 90 minutes of play. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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