By Tim Wigmore ⋅ June 28, 2006 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

World Cup Blog

France confounded the critics by coming from behind to beat Spain; if Thierry Henry joins Zidane and Vieira in hitting top form, then beating Brazil is possible.

I must confess to feeling more than a little embarrassed by my pre-tournament prediction that France would excel in Germany. Three matches in they had stuttered past Togo and drawn with the only half-decent sides they had faced, in Switzerland and, worse, South Korea.

The result of this all was a second round encounter with Spain, one of the two best sides of the tournament in the knockout stage. They appeared all that France were not – youthful, vibrant, energetic and hungry. This feeling was reinforced by the penalty from which they earned a thoroughly deserved lead against Spain. After half an hour, pundits were purring; meanwhile editors were furiously demanding Zinedine Zidane retirement pieces – for this seemed set to prove his footballing farewell.

Except it wasn’t. For all Spain’s technical prowess in moving the ball around and the attractive nature of their play, they were not creating all that much in front of goal. But fine work from the much-maligned Patrick Vieira released Frank Ribery, who rounded Casillas and finished with ease.

Ribery’s finishing so far in Germany has been abysmal, but he found his calm when it really mattered, and did justice to his all-round performances, which have always been lively. His pace and industry are a valuable tool in the French cog; if he continues to finish as he did today, Ribery has the ability to be a wonderful player.

Vieira, meanwhile, was a player many believed was past it. But his efforts against Togo, on his 30th birthday, suggested there were still fine performances in the former Arsenal skipper. His excursions against Spain proved it and reminded everyone his poor performance against Arsenal for Juventus is not necessarily how he now performs every week. The Fabregas-Vieira rematch was won, though hardly with ease, by the Frenchman, who tackled forcefully, ran with the power that seemed a thing of the past, and even scored the decisive goal. Alongside Claude Makelele, France dominated the centre of midfield, despite being outnumbered three-two in that area.

The scorer of the excellent third goal was yet another with much to prove. He was, despite what some people had suggested on the basis of the game with Togo in which Zidane was suspended, still most certainly worthy of his place on the side. This was not quite Zidane’s finest hour, but he was still imperative in orchestrating play and, belying his age, improved as the game went on.

With three men with big question marks over their name having confounded their critics, one man must still do that if France are to overcome Brazil. His name is Thierry Henry; Henry has contributed two goals in Germany and not been as bad as many have said, but his most telling contribution so far has still been holding his head after being struck nowhere near the area, an act which ultimately earned the free-kick from which France scored their second.

But if he truly fires, then, along with Ribery and Zidane, France should enjoy joy against Brazil’s defence. France’s defence, meanwhile, has looked generally very solid so far. In beating Spain, France knocked out perhaps the side that, statistically, performed better than anyone else in the group stages. Beating the world champions is a genuine possibility – but probably only if Henry is at top form.

Tags: France

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