dugarry punishes romania to put france top published: monday 6 october 2003, 10.40cet
aimé jacquet's side never found top gear but nevertheless climbed to the top of group b thanks to christophe dugarry's first-half effort.
france moved to the top of group b thanks to a 1-0 victory against romania.
having met twice in qualifying – a 0-0 draw in saint-etienne and a 3-1 win for france in bucharest – these were two teams who could harbour no secrets from each other. aimé jacquet did not even attempt to spring a surprise, setting his team up in his trademark 4-3-1-2 formation. it once again proved fruitful for les bleus, with christophe dugarry's 25th-minute effort enough to separate the sides.
romania exceeded expectations in the united states two years earlier, reaching the 1994 fifa world cup quarter-finals, but on this occasion failed to respond to gheorghe hagi's promptings. though france put in a slightly more fluent display, they were left grateful for a slice of fortune which ultimately ensured they got off to a winning start.
youri djorkaeff put in a high cross from the right and goalkeeper bogdan stelea came out to the very edge of the penalty area where he collided with gheorghe mihali, allowing a surprised dugarry to head in.
there could have been more goals late on, patrice loko escaping two defenders before missing the target and laurent blanc denying viorel modovan with a fine tackle, but dugarry's effort was decisive.
