EAST RUTHERFORD, N,J. (AP) — France’s last World Cup match against Senegal set off dancing in the streets of Dakar.Les Bleus were the defending champions when the Lions of Teranga’s 1-0 upset win in the 2002 opener caused Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade to declare a national holiday.“Not for revenge do we want to win, but we want to go as far as possible in this competition,” France midfielder N’Golo Kanté said through a translator on Monday, a day before Les Bleus and Senegal meet in Group I.Senegal was a French colony before 1960.“We know that a game between France and Senegal is a very symbolic game,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said through a translator.Six of France’s players hadn’t been born at the time of the 2002 game, when Papa Bouba Diop scored in the 30th minute while lying on his side. The Lions of Teranga reached the quarterfinals that year before losing to Turkey, while France went winless and failed to advance from its group.
“There’s no revenge in football,” France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator. “This will be another page to write now and what happened in 2002, well, all the best for Senegal. I mean it was good for them at the time but we’ll make sure that the results be a positive for us this time.”
