Italy win World Cup

For the fourth time, Italy lifted the World Cup trophy as they beat France 5-3 on penalties on Sunday. Both teams had drawn level at 1-1 in a tense final that saw Zinedine Zidane sent off in extra time.

France started off brightly and had the better chances early on in the game. The referee awarded a penalty in the 6th minute after Florent Malouda charged into the box and was felled by Materazzi. Zidane converted the spot-kick with a cheeky chip which hit the underside of the bar. However, Italy came back strongly and in the 19th minute, Materazzi turned from villian to hero when he outjumped Vieira to head an Andrea Pirlo corner in at the far post. Italy went close again in the 36th minute when striker Luca Toni headed against the bar from Pirlo's cross.

In the second half, France took control of the game (with Henry looking especially dangerous) and have several chances to pull ahead but they were just not able to breach the Italian defence. In fact, against the run of play, Italy nearly scored the winner when Barthez was beaten in the 62nd minute by a Toni header which was ruled out for offside. Neither side was able to break the deadlock as the game entered extra time.

Zidane could have finished the night as a two-goal hero when he aimed a scorching header from Sagnol's cross in the 105st minute but Buffon managed to turn it over the bar. Instead, he ended the match in disgrace when, after an exchange of words with Materazzi, he felled the centre back with a head butt. Without Zidane, France lost its grip on the game and it became apparent that penalties is the only way to decide the winner.

As it turns out, the Italians converted all the penalties. Italy must have kept their fans on tenterhooks as they had lost all three of their previous shootouts but they kept their nerve this time. It was France who disappointed as David Trezeguet (hero of Euro 2000) missed his penalty while Barthez was not able to stop any spotkicks to reverse the situation.

Soccer Pundit feels for Zidane as this was meant to be his night and a glorious end to his immaculate career. Yet he commited the cardinal sin of all players which is physical retaliation. In the minds of soccer fans, he will forever be the maestro with the unparalleled skills but there is now a slight blemish on his legacy. The French coach Domenech is partly to blame for their exit as he had taken out Henry and Ribery who are first choice penalty takers.

With Zidane's demise, Italians stole the limelight and their captain Fabio Cannavaro turned in another solid performance in his 100th international. As the record stands, they have become the second most successful team in World Cup history after Brazil, who have won it five times. There is no doubt that their defence won the Cup for them since Totti (playmaker) and del Pierro (striker) were lacklustre ever since the tournament started.

As for France, would they be cast into the wilderness now that the irrepressible Zidane has retired or will they make an energetic comeback with fresh, young talents? In Euro 2008, the answer will be revealed but one thing is for sure, there will not be another Zidane in the French team for this and maybe the next generation...