A goal from Arsenal star Thierry Henry was enough to send holders Brazil crashing out of the World Cup and end their hopes of reaching four World Cup Finals in a row.
A man of the match performance from Zinedine Zidane helped his country through as the superpower of attacking football proved that they are not as invincible as they seem on paper.
By no means was the France victory lucky but it required all eleven players to give it their best and for a few of Brazil’s star names to have an off day, which is exactly what happened.
After trundling through the groups stages France, as in the second half against Spain put in a performance worthy of the players they place on the team sheet. Midfielders Vieira and Makelele looked up to the challenge early on as Gallas and Thuram held firm at the rear, helping to turn defense into attacking with Henry providing the ammunition from an advanced position.
Brazil struggled to get into the game and France had the better of the first half without creating many chances. The Brazilians looked to stifle the play of Zidane and Henry with possession football but could not get enough time of the ball for their liking as Ribery and Malouda ran their socks off for forty five minutes.
Two balls in from Zidane crosses set up the best chances for the French but both produced efforts headed over the bar by Henry in the first instance and Malouda in the second. Zidane continued to tantalize with his skills in the rest of the half as Ronaldinho once more struggled to come to terms with the heavy marking which he received.
Ronaldo, much maligned in the early period of the tournament continued to impress going forward but was shrugged off the ball on several occasions looking for free kicks.
As the second half began, Brazil stepped up the tempo and Barthez was called into action on several occasions because of the change in the game. First Ronaldo drew a save from the Marseille stopper then Kaka drove a shot which was straight into the keeper’s hand. The French stopper known for his unconventional style of goalkeeper created several problems for himself at times, refusing to catch the ball from corners, giving the Brazilians second opportunities to test the French defense.
As Henry won a free kick at the other end of the pitch, the chance came for a French goal and duly Henry supplied it with a fantastically cool volley at the back post from a Zidane ball in. Played in with pace the free kick was missed by several Brazilian’s who marking was awry, leaving Henry to score his third goal of the tournament.
Brazil sent on Adriano who was able to hold up the ball for running Brazilian midfielders but still efforts from Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and even Cafu could not hit the back of the net.
A free kick from the quiet Ronaldinho was the closest Brazil came to scoring in the second half but the French defense held out to send them onto Munich to face Portugal in the second semi final.
A man of the match performance from Zinedine Zidane helped his country through as the superpower of attacking football proved that they are not as invincible as they seem on paper.
By no means was the France victory lucky but it required all eleven players to give it their best and for a few of Brazil’s star names to have an off day, which is exactly what happened.
After trundling through the groups stages France, as in the second half against Spain put in a performance worthy of the players they place on the team sheet. Midfielders Vieira and Makelele looked up to the challenge early on as Gallas and Thuram held firm at the rear, helping to turn defense into attacking with Henry providing the ammunition from an advanced position.
Brazil struggled to get into the game and France had the better of the first half without creating many chances. The Brazilians looked to stifle the play of Zidane and Henry with possession football but could not get enough time of the ball for their liking as Ribery and Malouda ran their socks off for forty five minutes.
Two balls in from Zidane crosses set up the best chances for the French but both produced efforts headed over the bar by Henry in the first instance and Malouda in the second. Zidane continued to tantalize with his skills in the rest of the half as Ronaldinho once more struggled to come to terms with the heavy marking which he received.
Ronaldo, much maligned in the early period of the tournament continued to impress going forward but was shrugged off the ball on several occasions looking for free kicks.
As the second half began, Brazil stepped up the tempo and Barthez was called into action on several occasions because of the change in the game. First Ronaldo drew a save from the Marseille stopper then Kaka drove a shot which was straight into the keeper’s hand. The French stopper known for his unconventional style of goalkeeper created several problems for himself at times, refusing to catch the ball from corners, giving the Brazilians second opportunities to test the French defense.
As Henry won a free kick at the other end of the pitch, the chance came for a French goal and duly Henry supplied it with a fantastically cool volley at the back post from a Zidane ball in. Played in with pace the free kick was missed by several Brazilian’s who marking was awry, leaving Henry to score his third goal of the tournament.
Brazil sent on Adriano who was able to hold up the ball for running Brazilian midfielders but still efforts from Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and even Cafu could not hit the back of the net.
A free kick from the quiet Ronaldinho was the closest Brazil came to scoring in the second half but the French defense held out to send them onto Munich to face Portugal in the second semi final.