World Cup Post #13

Second day quarter finals wrap - Zizou and Co. rewind the clock with a vintage display as England fluff yet another penalty shootout

France vs Brazil; On the evidence of this morning's (Australian time) final quarter final, the great man, Zinedine Zidane, is determined to go out with a bang. For two or three years he has been a shadow of the man who once dominated the world game, when he controlled football games on his own for the likes of France, Juventus and Real Madrid. In the past two games, against Spain and Brazil, he has reminded the world, in his final hours, of how brilliant he once was, and it seems, still is. And isn't it a sight to behold. Here he toyed with the world champs, controlling, prompting, teasing, stepping over and rarely relinquishing a ball. It was the mastero, back on the ultimate stage after some terrible luck four years ago, reminding us all about the standards required for greatness. From his first touch, when he took a couple of Brazilian midfielders to the cleaners with a sublime drag-back and run, it was the Zizou of old, simply the most outstanding individual performance of a tournament that has been dominated by team-play. Time and time again Brazil allowed Zidane to turn and tee-up a teammate and he was always the go-to man, so wonderful to see him back at the peak of his powers. But he wasn't alone, this was the most stunning turn-around from a French team which failed to live up to expectations for two and a half group games. It wasn't till the seond half against Togo, when Vieira started springing from midfield, scoring one and setting up another that this side started to look the real deal. They carried it on against Spain with a superb defensive display, but this one was even better. The spine, the big names, were back on top of the world. From Thuram and Gallas at central defence to Vieira and Makelele in front of them, this was a collective performance which stifled Brazil into submission. Zidane and Henry, supported by Malouda and Ribery on the flanks, applied the finishing touches. Even Sagnol was back to his best, and Abidal showed he is an emerging talent. Tactically they squeezed the life out of Brazil, much as Croatia and the Socceroos had to done with decent success. There was little room between Les Bleus' defence and attack lines, ensuring Brazil had no room to play in. It was a tactic used by Kranjcar, replicated by Hiddink and Domenech - defend fairly high up the pitch, keep things compact (no more than 20/30 metres between the strikers and defenders) and never allow Brazil to build any passing or dribbling momentum. These tactics are even tough for the likes of Ronaldinho to play against. While some may see it as cynical, the fact is that if you open up against this collection of Brazilians, they're likely to carve you up, as Japan and Ghana discovered. And finally, Henry scoring a goal of substance in a game of substance, it was a first rate French performance. They have shown in the past two games they still have the desire to succeed and will be hard to knock-off if they continue to display this type of hunger.

Portugal vs England; An intriguing and fascination 0-0 draw, it was great to see England playing an almost European style of game, full of patient build-ups and ball on the ground stuff, a far cry from the knock-it-long-to-Crouch play we've grown acustomed to over the past couple of weeks. Having said that, Portugal still looked the superior passing team, but continue to lack a cutting edge at the top of its attack. Pauleta continues to struggle and this is now a major concern heading into a game against a solid defensive unit such as France. Portugal build things up so beautifully and patiently, but their best chances often fall from distance to the likes of wide men Ronaldo and Figo or midfielders like Maniche. Against a team like England, which defended deep and splendidly, even when reduced to 10 men by a moment of typical petulance from Rooney, this is rarely going to win games. It happened to Portugal against Greece two years ago, and unless their central striker is providing more of a cutting edge, they might find it hard to break down the French wall. Defensively however the Portugese were magnificent and lead by the inspirational Carvalho, often cleaning up on his own. England had some half-chances and deserved to take this game to penalties, but once again the pressure of expectation from the penalty spot brought about their downfall. Just as Germany seem destined to win any penalty-shootout, so England seem ordained to lose them, perhaps down to both technique and temperament. Here they were in the box seat when Petit missed, but still managed to lose.