France 1-0 Portugal

France emerged as victor in the semi-final match against Portugal with a 1-0 scoreline on Wednesday. The 34-year-old Zidane, who retires after the finals, got the winner after 33 minutes by calmly converting a penalty after Thierry Henry's ankle was caught by Ricardo Carvalho.

For Portugal, it was another disappointing end and this finally brought down the curtain on their golden generation. It was the first loss in 13 World Cup matches for Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the title with Brazil in 2002, after 11 wins and the draw against England in the quarter-finals that his team won on penalties. Meanwhile, Portugal's dismal record of not beating France since 1975 continues after this match.

Soccer Pundit feels that all is not lost for Portugal. They have a glittering star in Cristiano Ronaldo who really made the difference with his flicks, back-heels, crosses, speed and step-overs. Character-wise, he still need to develop himself but his technical ability is beyond doubt as he posed the main danger to France whenever he had the ball. Soccer Pundit mentioned previously that Portugal's front line is inept; Pauletta, Postiga, Nuno Gomez were ineffective and this severely restricts the ability to win a match.

Previously, they had long-range goals from Maniche to rescue them but against France, that did not happen. The fact that Scolari left Ronaldo as the only front-man towards the end highlighted this inadequacy. Their midfield is among the best with players like Deco, Figo, Ronaldo, Simao and Maniche. Thus, the story of Portugal is one of well-organised play and one-touch passing due to their excellent midfield but never being able to score due to the quality of the strikers. The match could have played another 90 minutes and there will still be little goal-mouth action from Portugal.

France, on the other hand, have players like Henry, Trezeguet, Saha, Ribery and Cisse (injured) in their frontline which is a luxury for Portugal. Their midfield is also extremely strong with Zidane, Makelele, and Vieira. More importantly, it is the majestic performance of "Zizou" which tipped the scale. It is extremely difficult to take the ball away from Zidane as he can hold the ball well, shimmy past the defender at ease or make an accurate pass back to his team-mates. Coupled with his vision in spotting the openings in defence, there is no doubt that he has the hallmark of a world class player and is probably the best player ever to don the French colors.

His sublime touches managed to unlock the Portuguese defence several times and France always looked more dangerous in front of goal than the Portuguese did. Soccer Pundit can't remember the French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez being put under much of a pressure throughout the whole game.

Actually, Barthez is the weakest link in the French team with his eccentric and inconsistent performance at times. This is something which Soccer Pundit believes the Italians would definitely exploit. The Italians have shown an uncanny knack of striking at the right moment in this tournament so the French defence would have to be at their best at all times. Any lapse in concentration in set-pieces or one-to-one situation with Barthez would be fatal.

The finals is a match which is very even in skills and technique and anybody can be a winner. You will need a referee who is competent to spot the technical fouls as the Italians have perfected play-acting and rough challenges to an art. Thierry Henry is also beginning to show some talent in this aspect with his antics against Spain and the penalty won against Portugal when he "tripped" over.

The team who scores the first goal may just go on to be the world champion. To breach the Italian defence, you need someone who is truly exceptional but in Zidane, France have such a player with the class and magic to do that so they may just have the slight edge so long as Barthez is well-protected...

Germany 0-2 Italy

Italy beat Germany 2-0 in their World Cup semi-final match on Tuesday with two late goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero in extra time. It was a big disappointment for the Germans who did not deserve to lose in this manner.

In the first half, Italy were more organised and controlled the game well while Germany did not get into their stride and looked a bit lost. In the 16th minute, Simone Perrotta broke clear on the left but Lehmann comes out quickly to smother the danger at his feet after a superb through ball by Totti. Eight minutes later, Marco Materazzi failed to connect with a header after a curling free kick into the area from the right by midfielder Andrea Pirlo. In the 31st mintue, Luca Toni got a shot in the box but Metzelder makes a superb block to avert the danger. Just before half-time, Italy midfielder Mauro Camoranesi headed over the bar from Pirlo's curling free kick.

Germany had very few chances in the first half but after the break, they came storming back to wrest the midfield from the Italians and put the Italian defence under great pressure. In the 50th minute, Klose drives into the area on a determined run through the Italian defence and is only thwarted by the bravery of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. In the 63rd minute, Podolski turns Materazzi in the area and strikes a fierce left-foot shot that Buffon blocks from point-blank range and Arne Friedrich fires over the bar on the follow-up. However, nobody could break the deadlock as the match went into extra-time.

It was Italy who took control in the extra time. In the 91st minute, Gilardino hits the post after rounding Ballack in the area and firing past Lehmann with his left foot from close range. Then in the 93rd minute, Zambrotta cracks a shot against the bar with his right foot from the edge of the area after Germany fail to clear a corner. Germany held out until the last two minutes of extra time when Italy dashed their hopes the two goals.

Soccer Pundit feels that this German team has brought great joy to their nation and it was a pity that they did not make it to the finals. Against Italy, you don't get too many chances and if one or two ever comes your way, you have to grab it with both hands. The chances in the second half were enough for the Germans to settle the match but they were too wasteful. Nevertheless, this is a young and eager team and for many people who wrote them off, they have already proven themselves and won over the critics with their outstanding displays so far.

They can stand proud as heroes as they fought gallantly in this tight and highly balanced match. Germany did not manage to break down the Italian defence but any of the top contenders would face the same problems. (Soccer Pundit has mentioned before that this watertight defence is the X-factor for the Italians). It seems that the corruption scandal back home has united and spurred the Italians on, instead of demoralising them, and they now march into the finals as a hot favourite. Another interesting fact to note will be Italy's track record of being in the World Cup finals every 12 years, so for the year 2006, they could just repeat the feat for the fourth time and Soccer Pundit won't be betting against them...

France defeat Brazil 1-0

France defeated Brazil 1-0 with a Thierry Henry goal on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals. Henry, left unmarked in the area, volleyed home a free kick from Zinedine Zidane for the winner after 57 minutes. This was a classic French performance which brought back memories of the 1998 World Cup finals where they stunned Brazil 3-0.

For Soccer Pundit, this was a high quality game in which France imposed their style while five-times champions Brazil, aiming to reach the World Cup final for the fourth time in succession, looked nervous as the game played on. Brazil did show more initiative at the start by winning possession and threatened after 11 minutes as Ronaldo headed a Ronaldinho free kick over.

France, gradually winning more balls in midfield and gaining confidence, began to dominate their opponents before the break. In the second half, France began where they left off, which is the consistent pressure on the Brazilian defence and not giving them the time and space on the ball. From their midfield dominance, they were rewarded with several clear chances to settle the match. Vieira headed a Zidane free kick wide before Henry headed into the net, also from set piece, only to be flagged offside. Shortly after France scored, Juan almost doubled their advantage with an own goal as he sliced a clearance aiming at a cross by the ever-dangerous Franck Ribery.

Clearly in control, France thrilled the crowd with fluent moves and despite Ronaldinho's efforts, including a free kick over the bar, they savoured a deserved victory. Before the match, this was a result which Brazilian fans could never imagine. Their team has gone on a run of 11 straight World Cup finals wins and France "barely-make-it" passage through the group stages did not instill fear into their opponents nor make them a hot favorite. However, they did not count on the great Zidane to recover his wizardy and Vierra's outstanding form to transform France back into a formidable unit.

The signs of Brazil faltering were actually on the wall as right from the start, the samba was missing and it was only an outstanding goal from Kaka that saw off Croatia rather than a convincing performance. In the match against Japan, Brazil finally showed some of their capabilities but Japan is not a top-flight opposition. Against Ghana, the 3-0 victory was also flattering and glossed over the insipid performances of the midfield. The Ghanians were not defeated by Brazil, rather they failed themselves with their poor finishing and defensive lapses when they went all out.

A Brazil, supported by a defence to reach thus far, is bound for failure as their culture is to play attacking football, not to defend well. Their famed one-touch passing being reduced to pumping high balls into the penalty box was a disgrace to their proud tradition. Ronaldinho has been an utter disappointment so far and has not shown soccer fans why he is the best footballer in the world. The fact that Brazil allowed Zidane to roam in midfield without closing him down showed that they did not have the tactical awareness to put things right and for this, their coach is solely responsible.

Soccer Pundit feels that it is justified that they lose the crown as world champions. Meanwhile, France proceed to meet Portugal and in Scolari, they will face a master tactician...

England 0-0 (penalties 1-3) Portugal

Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo saved three penalties to give his side a 3-1 penalty shootout win over England in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday after a goalless 120 minutes. Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a World Cup finals shootout.

Portugal now play France in the semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty after Ricardo saved penalties from England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard and substitute Jamie Carragher.

Soccer Pundit felt that this game was again an uninspiring performance from England and the only drama came from the controversial sending off of Rooney in the 62nd minute. Involved in a tussle for possession, Rooney stamped on the groin of defender Ricardo Carvalho virtually in front of Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo. He gave Cristiano Ronaldo a shove after he ran from 40 metres to the referee to protest about the incident. It was unclear from the FIFA officials whether Rooney's red card was for his stamp or his shove but for Soccer Pundit, this was a very harsh punishment.

Before that, England were already without captain David Beckham, left sitting in tears with his head in his hands after being substituted in the 51st minute, seemingly after taking a knock from Nuno Valente. One consolation for England was that they gave a wonderful response despite being down to 10 men and they defended their goal very well. Portugal, instead restricted themselves to long-range shots and even have to contend with England attacking on the break.

As the record stands, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has again done a one-up over Sven since the pair crossed each other's path during Sven's reign as England coach. Scolari's record in the World Cup matches is immaculate and they now have an outside chance of making it to the finals. If things fall into place nicely, they could even lift the trophy. France will be in the way and this would be epic battle between the two sides and probably the last encounter which we will ever witness between two soccer icons, Zidane and Luis Figo.

Luis Figo is the last of the golden generation of Portugal playing in this World Cup and he has enjoyed a good run so far. Under the guidance of Scolari, Figo has found a new lease of life and has put his skills and leadership to good use. He and Deco will have to wrest the midfield dominance from France. As for France, the rejuvenation of Zidane came at the right time for them and how Portugal deals with him will decide the outcome of the match. Soccer Pundit has no doubt that Scolari is already plotting the downfall of France...