France
The 2002 World Cup was a disaster for France. As hosts in 1998 they won the World Cup conquering Brazil 3-0 in the final and then beat Italy 2-1 in the 2000 Euros final with an extra-time golden goal by David Trezeguet.
So expectations for 2002 were high, but what happened? The world and European champions failed to score a single goal and finished bottom of their first-round group! They were beaten 1-0 by Senegal, drew 0-0 with Uruguay and lost 2-0 to Denmark.
France World Cup profile continues below
Raymond Domenech, who used to look after France's Under-21 side succeeded Jacques Santini after Euro 2004.
His appointment coincided with the retirement of some key players, who subsequently rejoined the French side.
Crucially one of those was Zinedine Zidane, who came back into the fold in August 2005 and helped France to qualify for the World Cup finals.
It had not been an easy campaign and included a succession of draws against Israel, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland.
The rather drab displays in the qualifiers contrasted sharply with the flair players that the French were able to call upon, not least Thierry Henry.
Midfield genius, Zidane has announced that he is definitely retiring after the World Cup finals in Germany - but France would have to improve on a poor opening 0-0 draw with Switzerland for Zidane to end on a high.
France failed to shine in their second match as well. They had to settle for a 1-1 draw with South Korea after Park Ji-Sung equalised a Thierry Henry strike.
In the end France just managed to qualify for the last 16. Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry scored in their last group match - against Togo - and France won 2-0, ending up one point ahead of South Korea.
In spite of their unimpressive start in the tournament, France managed to beat Spain 3-1 and so qualified for the quarter-finals.
France were on much better form when they defeated favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals 1-0. In particular, Zidane had a virtuoso performance.
France continued their good form in the semi-final against Portugal. They won 1-0 thanks to a Zidane penalty in the 33rd minute and booked a place in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
Joy was turned to sadness, however, as France lost the final to Italy on penalties. After extra time the match had been drawn at 1-1 and in spite of Zidane being sent off, France seemed to have the upper-hand, but they couldn't convert their chances and victory eluded them.
The French Squad:
Goalkeepers: Fabien Barthez (Olympique Marseille), Gregory Coupet (Olympique Lyon), Mickael Landreau (Nantes)
Defenders: Eric Abidal (Olympique Lyon), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle United, England), Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic, England), William Gallas (Chelsea, England), Gael Givet (Monaco) Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich, Germany), Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United, England), Lilian Thuram (Juventus, Italy)
Midfielders: Vikash Dhorasoo (Paris St Germain), Alou Diarra (Racing Lens), Claude Makelele (Chelsea, England), Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon), Patrick Vieira (Juventus, Italy), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid, Spain)
Attackers: Djibril Cisse (Liverpool, England), Thierry Henry (Arsenal, England), Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille), Louis Saha (Manchester United, England), David Trezeguet (Juventus, Italy), Sylvain Wiltord (Olympique Lyon)
