After fighting through against lesser and on occasion better opponents, Italy and France have managed to enter the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The way these sides played throughout the tournament has been contrasting - Italy playing good football consistently whereas France starting slow and picking up their game during the knockout stages. However, if their performances during the semi-finals is an indicator of things to come, the final promises to be one hell of a contest...
In their semi-final clash against Germany, Italy came across as a determined and focussed team. Their tackling was superb and passing was immaculate. The way they snatched the ball from the Germans showed that the side meant business and set the tone for the entire match. The Germans on the other hand were playing a safe and subdued game. It looked as if they had set their sights on a penalty shootout right from kick-off. All seemed to go well for the Germans when suddenly during the 119th minute during the second extra-time a brilliant goal by Grosso left the Germans shell-shocked. Before they could even recover from the goal and think about scoring an equaliser in the last couple of minutes of the match, Del Piero sent another one to the back of the net to hand Italy a 2-0 victory over Germany and a place in the finals. After dominating throughout the tournament it was sad to see a good side lose in the dying moments of a closely fought match. The German team and the fans however took it in their stride and showed that they weren't bad losers like Argentina!!
The second semi-final saw a resurgent France taking on a charged-up Portugal. Portugal having got the better of England during the quarter finals looked eager to take on the former world champions - a side filled with ageing players. Of course, a point to note was that France had Zenedine Zidane amongst their ranks, who showed that age does not matter in their previous encounter against Brazil. Zizou as he is popularly called played sublime football and his passes were as good as they come. The match was evenly contested till the 33rd minute, when Zidane scored through a penalty and put the Portugese on the back foot. France had drawn first blood and they held their nerve through the 90 minutes and put an end to the Portugal dream run. Les Bleus as they are called were on their way to Berlin for a clash against Italy on Sunday - August 9th.
Some snippets to chew on till August 9th
1) Italy have made the World Cup finals every 12 years from 1970 and are three time winners
2) France have won once - on home soil in 1998
3) Italy have Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni in their ranks
4) France have Patrick Vieira, Thiery Henry and the grand old man - Zidane in their ranks.
5) Buffon looks like a better keeper than Barthez
6) Its almost time for Zidane to hang up his boots and he would love to make a mark in his final World Cup.
7) On current form, Italy look a better equipped side but on their day France can get rid of even the best sides - ask Brazil!!
I can hardly wait for the grand finale to begin; and with Germany eliminated I will root for both the sides :-) May the best team win!!!
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