Les Bleus vont au Berlin
Yes folks,Domenech's golden oldies have done it.They beat Portugal 1-0 to set up a date with the Azzuri on July 9.Portugal had more possession but could not translate them into shots going into the back of the net.
The result means Luis Felipe Scolari's boys will have to be content with a third place playoff against Germany. That game will not be easy ,as they have Ricardo Carvalho suspended,a real blow as the Chelsea defender has been one of the star players in Germany.
Potugal welcomed back Deco and Costinha from suspension as the match started off with a flurry of activity .Flourent Malouda nearly gave France an early lead after latching to a wondeful through ball from Thuram,but he shot wide.Both the teams were restrained in their tackles in the first half,something quite understandable from the fact that 10 players were on yellows.Lilian Thuram was outstanding in defence and time and again thwarted the moves of Deco,Figo,Maniche and company.He anticipated the ball well and timed his tackles perfectly.
The breakthrough finally came in the 33rd minute when Carvalho had some contact with Henry in the box.The Arsenal forward lost his balance and fell and the referee pointed to the spot.Ricardo guessed right,but Zidane kept his cool and slotted it past him. 1-0 to France.
France preserved their lead till half time.After the lemon break,Theirry Henry nearly made it 2-0 to France ,but Ricardo saved well to keep the margin to one goal only.After that it was Portugal,who had more of the ball,as France soaked up the pressure in order to defend their 1 goal lead.Pauleta ,Portgual's all time highest goal scorer struggled upfront .He was playing as sole striker and looked lost on the pitch.When he did get a teeny weeny inch of space,he shot into the side netting.Miguel hobbled off as he was replaced by Champions League winner,Paulo Ferreira.Scolari also brought on Helder Postiga and Simao as Portugal searched desperately for an equaliser.Their best chance came off a Cristiano Ronaldo freekick which was parried by Barthez. It met the head of Luis Figo and went over the bar,much to the relief of the French.
The Portuguese looked capable of anything but scoring a goal.They dived blatantly ,the most prominent culprit being Ronaldo himself.The 19 year old did nothing to endear himself to the fans as he constantly dropped himself to the ground in the box.One wonders why they did not try Luis Boa Morte,who has proven himself with Fulham in England.The Portuguese did earn corners and dominated attacks in the second half but just could not get past the French defensive wall.
Fabien Barthez did display some signs of the eccentricity that all Manchester United and French fans know him well for,but fortunately for France,nothing came off them.
The final score ended 1-0 to France.Zinedine Zidane went one step closer to his goal off signing off with a WC win while his ex Galactico Luis Figo had his dreams shattered.
France vs Italy is a rematch of Euro 2000 and Italy will be thirsting for revenge.This scenario is very similar to what happened in 1982 ( Last time all four semifinalists were Europeans) and that time,Italy won.
Another thing to add : The referee himself was a bit lenient and it was only in the latter stages of the game that he started handing out cards.It was probably a step taken in the right direction for nobody might have liked to see a France vs Italy final without the likes of Zidane,Vieira and co.
The result means Luis Felipe Scolari's boys will have to be content with a third place playoff against Germany. That game will not be easy ,as they have Ricardo Carvalho suspended,a real blow as the Chelsea defender has been one of the star players in Germany.
Potugal welcomed back Deco and Costinha from suspension as the match started off with a flurry of activity .Flourent Malouda nearly gave France an early lead after latching to a wondeful through ball from Thuram,but he shot wide.Both the teams were restrained in their tackles in the first half,something quite understandable from the fact that 10 players were on yellows.Lilian Thuram was outstanding in defence and time and again thwarted the moves of Deco,Figo,Maniche and company.He anticipated the ball well and timed his tackles perfectly.
The breakthrough finally came in the 33rd minute when Carvalho had some contact with Henry in the box.The Arsenal forward lost his balance and fell and the referee pointed to the spot.Ricardo guessed right,but Zidane kept his cool and slotted it past him. 1-0 to France.
France preserved their lead till half time.After the lemon break,Theirry Henry nearly made it 2-0 to France ,but Ricardo saved well to keep the margin to one goal only.After that it was Portugal,who had more of the ball,as France soaked up the pressure in order to defend their 1 goal lead.Pauleta ,Portgual's all time highest goal scorer struggled upfront .He was playing as sole striker and looked lost on the pitch.When he did get a teeny weeny inch of space,he shot into the side netting.Miguel hobbled off as he was replaced by Champions League winner,Paulo Ferreira.Scolari also brought on Helder Postiga and Simao as Portugal searched desperately for an equaliser.Their best chance came off a Cristiano Ronaldo freekick which was parried by Barthez. It met the head of Luis Figo and went over the bar,much to the relief of the French.
The Portuguese looked capable of anything but scoring a goal.They dived blatantly ,the most prominent culprit being Ronaldo himself.The 19 year old did nothing to endear himself to the fans as he constantly dropped himself to the ground in the box.One wonders why they did not try Luis Boa Morte,who has proven himself with Fulham in England.The Portuguese did earn corners and dominated attacks in the second half but just could not get past the French defensive wall.
Fabien Barthez did display some signs of the eccentricity that all Manchester United and French fans know him well for,but fortunately for France,nothing came off them.
The final score ended 1-0 to France.Zinedine Zidane went one step closer to his goal off signing off with a WC win while his ex Galactico Luis Figo had his dreams shattered.
France vs Italy is a rematch of Euro 2000 and Italy will be thirsting for revenge.This scenario is very similar to what happened in 1982 ( Last time all four semifinalists were Europeans) and that time,Italy won.
Another thing to add : The referee himself was a bit lenient and it was only in the latter stages of the game that he started handing out cards.It was probably a step taken in the right direction for nobody might have liked to see a France vs Italy final without the likes of Zidane,Vieira and co.
posted by enigmaticme at
10:27 PM
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