2002 FIFA World Cup Group A

Group A was one of eight groups at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It consisted of defending champions France, two-time winners Uruguay, Denmark and debutants Senegal. 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 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, 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.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Senegal	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	5
3	Uruguay	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
4	France	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1

• Denmark advanced to play England (runner-up of Group F) in the round of 16.
• Senegal advanced to play Sweden (winner of Group F) in the round of 16.

All times are local (UTC+9)

31 May 2002

20:30

France	0–1	Senegal
	Report	Bouba Diop 30'

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 62,561

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

France

Senegal

GK 16 Fabien Barthez RB 15 Lilian Thuram CB 18 Frank Leboeuf CB 8 Marcel Desailly (c) LB 3 Bixente Lizarazu CM 4 Patrick Vieira CM 17 Emmanuel Petit  45+2' RW 11 Sylvain Wiltord  81' AM 6 Youri Djorkaeff  60' LW 12 Thierry Henry CF 20 David Trezeguet Substitutions: FW 21 Christophe Dugarry  60' FW 9 Djibril Cissé  81' Manager: Roger Lemerre

GK 1 Tony Sylva RB 17 Ferdinand Coly CB 13 Lamine Diatta CB 4 Pape Malick Diop LB 2 Omar Daf DM 6 Aliou Cissé (c)  51' RM 14 Moussa N'Diaye CM 19 Papa Bouba Diop CM 15 Salif Diao LM 10 Khalilou Fadiga CF 11 El Hadji Diouf Manager: Bruno Metsu

1 June 2002

18:00

Uruguay	1–2	Denmark
Rodríguez 47'	Report	Tomasson 45', 83'

Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan

Attendance: 30,157

Referee: Saad Mane (Kuwait)

Uruguay

Denmark

GK 1 Fabián Carini RB 2 Gustavo Méndez  25' CB 14 Gonzalo Sorondo CB 4 Paolo Montero (c) LB 6 Darío Rodríguez  87' RM 8 Gustavo Varela CM 5 Pablo García LM 7 Gianni Guigou AM 20 Álvaro Recoba  80' CF 9 Darío Silva CF 13 Sebastián Abreu  88' Substitutions: FW 17 Mario Regueiro  80' FW 11 Federico Magallanes  87' FW 18 Richard Morales  88' Manager: Víctor Púa

GK 1 Thomas Sørensen RB 6 Thomas Helveg CB 4 Martin Laursen  51' CB 3 René Henriksen LB 5 Jan Heintze (c)  34'  58' CM 2 Stig Tøfting CM 7 Thomas Gravesen RW 19 Dennis Rommedahl AM 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson LW 8 Jesper Grønkjær  70' CF 11 Ebbe Sand  89' Substitutions: DF 12 Niclas Jensen  58' FW 10 Martin Jørgensen  70' MF 17 Christian Poulsen  89' Manager: Morten Olsen

6 June 2002

15:30

Denmark	1–1	Senegal
Tomasson 16' (pen.)	Report	Diao 52'

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu

Attendance: 43,500

Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala)

Denmark

Senegal

GK 1 Thomas Sørensen RB 6 Thomas Helveg  82' CB 4 Martin Laursen CB 3 Rene Henriksen LB 5 Jan Heintze (c) CM 2 Stig Tøfting CM 7 Thomas Gravesen  62' RW 19 Dennis Rommedahl  89' AM 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson  20' LW 8 Jesper Grønkjær  50' CF 11 Ebbe Sand  7' Substitutions: FW 10 Martin Jørgensen  50' MF 17 Christian Poulsen  84'  62' FW 18 Peter Løvenkrands  89' Manager: Morten Olsen

GK 1 Tony Sylva RB 17 Ferdinand Coly CB 13 Lamine Diatta CB 4 Pape Malick Diop (c) LB 2 Omar Daf RM 14 Moussa N'Diaye  46' CM 3 Pape Sarr  46' CM 15 Salif Diao  62'  80' CM 19 Papa Bouba Diop LM 10 Khalilou Fadiga  10' CF 11 El Hadji Diouf Substitutions: FW 7 Henri Camara  46' FW 9 Souleymane Camara  46'  83' DF 21 Habib Beye  83' Manager: Bruno Metsu

6 June 2002

20:30

France	0–0	Uruguay
	Report

Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan

Attendance: 38,289

Referee: Felipe Ramos (Mexico)

France

Uruguay

GK 16 Fabien Barthez RB 15 Lilian Thuram CB 18 Frank Leboeuf  16' CB 8 Marcel Desailly (c) LB 3 Bixente Lizarazu CM 4 Patrick Vieira CM 17 Emmanuel Petit  45+2' RW 11 Sylvain Wiltord  90+3' AM 22 Johan Micoud LW 12 Thierry Henry  25' CF 20 David Trezeguet  81' Substitutions: DF 2 Vincent Candela  16' FW 9 Djibril Cissé  81' FW 21 Christophe Dugarry  90+3' Manager: Roger Lemerre

GK 1 Fabián Carini RB 3 Alejandro Lembo CB 4 Paolo Montero (c) CB 14 Gonzalo Sorondo LB 6 Darío Rodríguez  73' RM 8 Gustavo Varela CM 5 Pablo García  11' LM 16 Marcelo Romero  45+3'  71' AM 20 Álvaro Recoba CF 9 Darío Silva  47'  60' CF 13 Sebastián Abreu  45+2' Substitutions: FW 11 Federico Magallanes  60' MF 22 Gonzalo de los Santos  71' MF 7 Gianni Guigou  73' Manager: Víctor Púa

11 June 2002

15:30

Denmark	2–0	France
Rommedahl 22' Tomasson 67'	Report

Incheon World Cup Stadium, Incheon

Attendance: 48,100

Referee: Vítor Melo Pereira (Portugal)

Denmark

France

GK 1 Thomas Sørensen RB 6 Thomas Helveg CB 4 Martin Laursen CB 3 Rene Henriksen (c) LB 12 Niclas Jensen  71' CM 2 Stig Tøfting  79' CM 17 Christian Poulsen  27'  76' CM 7 Thomas Gravesen RW 19 Dennis Rommedahl LW 10 Martin Jørgensen  46' CF 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson Substitutions: FW 8 Jesper Grønkjær  46' DF 20 Kasper Bøgelund  76' MF 23 Brian Steen Nielsen  79' Manager: Morten Olsen

GK 16 Fabien Barthez RB 2 Vincent Candela CB 15 Lilian Thuram CB 8 Marcel Desailly (c) LB 3 Bixente Lizarazu CM 4 Patrick Vieira  71' CM 7 Claude Makélélé RW 11 Sylvain Wiltord  83' AM 10 Zinedine Zidane LW 21 Christophe Dugarry  8'  54' CF 20 David Trezeguet Substitutions: FW 9 Djibril Cissé  54' MF 22 Johan Micoud  71' MF 6 Youri Djorkaeff  83' Manager: Roger Lemerre

11 June 2002

15:30

Senegal	3–3	Uruguay
Fadiga 20' (pen.) Bouba Diop 26', 38'	Report	Morales 46' Forlán 69' Recoba 88' (pen.)

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Attendance: 33,681

Referee: Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)

Senegal

Uruguay

GK 1 Tony Sylva RB 17 Ferdinand Coly  39'  63' CB 13 Lamine Diatta CB 4 Pape Malick Diop LB 2 Omar Daf  4' RM 19 Papa Bouba Diop  69' CM 6 Aliou Cissé (c) CM 5 Alassane N'Dour  76' LM 10 Khalilou Fadiga  87' CF 7 Henri Camara  2'  67' CF 11 El Hadji Diouf  82' Substitutions: DF 21 Habib Beye  87'  63' MF 14 Moussa N'Diaye  67' MF 12 Amdy Faye  76' Manager: Bruno Metsu

GK 1 Fabián Carini  19' RB 3 Alejandro Lembo CB 4 Paolo Montero (c)  82' CB 14 Gonzalo Sorondo  32' LB 8 Gustavo Varela RM 16 Marcelo Romero  8'  46' CM 5 Pablo García  35' LM 6 Darío Rodríguez  40' AM 20 Álvaro Recoba CF 9 Darío Silva CF 13 Sebastián Abreu  46' Substitutions: FW 17 Mario Regueiro  32' FW 18 Richard Morales  46' FW 21 Diego Forlán  46' Manager: Víctor Púa

• Denmark at the FIFA World Cup
• France at the FIFA World Cup
• Senegal at the FIFA World Cup
• Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup

• Results