France expose Portuguese pretensions
Portugal 0 - 1 France
It was an evening to cherish for the football romantic. As the two giants lead their teams into the Allianz arena in Munich a packed stadium of 66,000 people witnessed the withering away of the last of Portugal's golden generation. Zinedine Zidane, took the one opportunity that came his way and with the least bit of fuss set the stage for his fairy tale farewell. Luis Figo, to many the best since Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, faded into the evening with a less than memorable performance. It was the end of an era for Portugal. The mutual respect and admiration was palpably obvious in their eyes as Figo and Zizou exchanged shirts at the end of time.
Felipe Scolari had yet to taste defeat in a world cup match, but Portugal failed to beat France in seven preceding matches including the European Semi-finals in 2000. It was a Zidane golden goal in the 117th minute that sent France into the finals. France won that tournament to cap a period of great success for the Les Bleus lead by Zidane.
As the match unfurled, neither attack inspired any confidence. Portugal had to be content with shooting from long range, as William Gallas, Lilian Thuram, Eric Abidal and Willy Sagnol strangled them for space. A Maniche shot flew just inches over the crossbar, but that was the closest they would come to scoring in the first half. Even though both the teams were guilty of attempting to gain favour with the referee, the crowd picked on Cristiano Ronaldo for special treatment, jeering his every touch of the ball. It is a pity because the only time Portugal looked in place was with the ball at the feet of this talented young man. But then, fair play hasn't been his style, prone as he is to diving and show boating at the slightest opportunity.
Ironically, it was France who were awarded a disputed penalty in the 32nd minute. Ricardo Carvalho barely caught the shin of Thiery Henry just inside the box, and the French striker obliged by falling promptly. A convinced Jorge Larrionda pointed to the spot, a relaxed Zidane shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ricardo.
The second half contained more of the same, as Portugal dominated possession but failed to create any meaningful shots at the goal. Miguel suffered an injury appearing to have pulled a hamstring as he attempted to play Pauleta in the area. Paulo Ferreira came in but he could never do a Miguel. As time ticked away Scolari brought in Simao and Postiga as substitutes, but by then the French defense had grown in confidence and did an effective job of bottling the Portuguese at the front.
By now the French were defending in numbers content to protect their one goal advantage. To their credit the Portuguese defended well despite the pressure to equalise. Their finest opportunity to do so came from a free kick, 30 yards out. Ronaldo shot one straight at Fabien Barthez, who made a mess of the collection. The ball bounced out nicely for Figo who failed to nail the header.
So the carnival reaches Berlin without Brazil or Argentina, and the hosts have been reduced to play that meaningless match in Stuttgart against Portugal to decide third best. As France prepare to take on three time champions Italy, they will have to pray for the magic of Zizou and the finishing skills of Henry. A repeat of their semi-final performance against Portugal would make Italy the firm favourites for the title.
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