say good by to the french

In the land where Jerry Lewis is king, there are no smiles. France, which just four years ago was celebrating a World Cup championship, was officially eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday – without scoring even one goal. The defending champs lost 2-0 to Denmark, after Dennis Rommedahl scored in the 22nd minute and Jon Dahl Tomasson tallied not long after.

“I didn't expect to go back home like that after the first round,” oft-injured French star Zinedine Zidane summarizes, with disappointment. “But we won't stop here. We will have to turn the page, turn over a new leaf.” France lost to Senegal 1-0 and battled Uruguay to a 0-0 draw during its other games. “It's the end of a beautiful story,” French striker David Trezeguet admits. “That's the law of soccer, you have to accept it.” The Danes will play either England, Sweden or Argentina in the next round.

The outcome was a lot better for the Irish team. They scored a trio of unanswered goals to easily beat Saudi Arabia 3-0, and advance to the next round. Robbie Keane scored in the seventh minute, while Gary Breen and Damien Duff also tallied for the Emerald Isle. Like France, the Saudi team never managed a goal during any of its matches.

And European teams made it a clean sweep Tuesday, as Germany shut out Cameroon 2-0. Marco Bode scored in the 50th minute, while World Cup leading scorer Miroslav Klose netted another at the 79-minute mark for the win. Klose now has five goals overall in the tournament. Germany will face South Africa, Spain or Paraguay next.