GROUP A / SENEGAL

*--* World Cup record: Debut Best finish: Debut 1998 showing: Did not qualify Coach: Bruno Metsu. With dark, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes, French-born Metsu has an almost messianic look, but he endeared himself to the Senegalese by marrying a local woman in March, thus showing that his attachment to the country “went well beyond football,” according to Dakar’s Le Soleil newspaper Players to watch: El Hadji Diouf, Ferdinand Coly, Khalilou Fadiga In brief: The Lions of Teranga, as they are known, are made up primarily of Senegalese players living and playing in France, chief among them Africa’s 2001 player of the year, striker Diouf, an eight-goal scorer in qualifiers now being pursued by Liverpool Quick quote: “If we crash out early, it will be no surprise. But I have a feeling we will spring a few surprises.”--Diouf Forecast: A woeful lack of warmup games could be costly in a group where no prisoners will be taken. A first-round exit is almost guaranteed

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