France Is the Latest Superpower to Falter

Defending champion France was knocked out of the European Championship on Friday night, losing, 1-0, to Greece in a quarterfinal at Lisbon that became the latest upset in a tournament filled with surprising results.

For the first time in the history of the quadrennial event, which began in 1960, all of Europe’s five biggest soccer powers failed to make the semifinals. Germany, Italy and Spain were eliminated in the first round, and England lost its quarterfinal to host Portugal on Thursday.

Angelos Charisteas scored in the 66th minute on a header. Greek captain Theodoros Zagorakis chipped the ball over Bixente Lizarazu and sped down the field and crossed to Charisteas, who beat goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.

“We made a great effort against a major squad and we justified our presence here. Everything is possible now,” Charisteas said. “We realized that throughout this game, at least for 90 minutes, we had to be completely focused, completely concentrated.”

Thierry Henry almost tied the score with three minutes left, but his powerful header went wide.

“We started to play only when it was too late,” French defender Lilian Thuram said.

It was another disappointing exit for France, which won the 1998 World Cup and followed up two years later by winning the European title. France was knocked out of the 2002 World Cup in the first round but going into Friday had been unbeaten in 22 consecutive games since a 2-0 loss to the Czech Republic on Feb. 12, 2003.

“We weren’t thinking clearly towards the end of the match,” said France Coach Jacques Santini, who is leaving to become coach of Tottenham Hotspur in England. “We were just rushing forwards, and that was not the best way to go about it. It’s a big disappointment. We had hoped to get to the final.”

After the final whistle, the bewildered French players slumped to the ground in disbelief.

“I’m upset about the goal. I saw the ball and committed myself too early,” Lizarazu said. “It’s hard to judge this match. We had the impression we dominated in every department.”

Meanwhile, the jubilant Greeks rushed toward their fans, linking arms and jumping up and down in celebration. A sign on the bus carrying Greek players carried the slogan: “Ancient Greece had 12 Gods. Modern Greece has 11.”

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Giovanni Trapattoni was replaced by Marcello Lippi as Italy’s national team coach, three days after the team was ousted in the first round of the European Championship.

Lippi, a former Juventus coach, has a contract that runs through 2006, when the next World Cup is held, Italian soccer federation President Franco Carraro said.

“The national team is in every coach’s dreams, and therefore in my dreams too,” said Lippi, who will take over July 16, the day after Trapattoni’s contract expires.

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Inaki Saez resigned as Spain’s coach after his team’s first-round elimination last weekend at the European Championship.

Saez said as recently as Tuesday that he intended to continue but changed his mind after heavy media criticism.

Spain, with a soccer reputation as a perennial underachiever, lost, 1-0, to host Portugal last Sunday. Spain finished third in its four-team group, behind Portugal and Greece, scoring only two goals in three games.

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Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones will sit out Sunday’s game at Chicago because of a concussion and neck strain. Jones was injured in Wednesday night’s 3-0 loss to the Metro- Stars. Rookie Joseph Ngwenya is expected to replace Jones in the starting lineup.

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Iran defeated Syria, 4-1, to win the West Asian Football Federation Championship at Tehran, rallying from a 1-0 deficit on goals from four different players.