Zinedine Zidane participant in 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 World Cup
As reigning world and European champions, France entered the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea as favourites but a thigh injury sustained in a warm up match before the tournament prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches and without their talisman, the French team failed to score in either match. He was rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal; the worst performance by a defending champion in the history of the competition.
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