He is perhaps best known for scoring the first goal of 2002 FIFA World Cup against France, which resulted in the 1–0 defeat of the defending world champions and, ultimately, their early elimination from the tournament, in which Senegal reached the quarter-finals. He ended as his team's best scorer of the tournament with three goals, having also scored twice against Uruguay. Diop celebrated his goal against France by running to the corner of the pitch, laying his shirt on the floor, and having his teammates dance around it. Diop played at three more Africa Cup of Nations tournaments: in 2004 he scored in a 3–0 group win over Kenya in Tunisia, and in 2006 he netted in a 3–2 victory against Guinea in the quarter-finals. His last appearances were in a group-stage elimination in Ghana in 2008, in which Senegal manager Henryk Kasperczak resigned during the tournament due to the team's ill discipline. Diop played 63 times for Senegal, scoring 11 goals. During the 2022 World Cup, Senegal dedicated their win over Ecuador to Diop on the second anniversary of his death. Style of play His manager at Fulham, Chris Coleman, described him as a player with "great feet, scores goals, defends well, tackles, has got good pace", and that his "stature and ability" were unique in the Premier League at the time, similar to that of Patrick Vieira. Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes described him as one of the most "awkward" players he had played against, and noted that "you get involved physically with him and you're wasting your time". During his playing career in England, Diop was nicknamed "The Wardrobe" for his stature (he was in height). Death Diop died in Paris on 29 November 2020 following a long illness. It was reported by L'Équipe that he had ALS. Diop's funeral was held in Dakar on 4 December before burial in his hometown. In attendance were his widow Marie Aude, their son and daughter, President of Senegal Macky Sall and teammates from the 2002 World Cup. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diop goal. Honours Grasshoppers Swiss Super League: 2000–01 Portsmouth FA Cup: 2007–08 AEK Athens Greek Cup: 2010–11 Senegal Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2002 References External links Profile, stats and pictures of Bouba Diop 1978 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Dakar Association football