Wednesday, 5th July
Scolari Scowls As France Are Spot On
 Portugal vs  France
in München
Previous Encounters:
Of the four previous meetings between Portugal and France, France have won them all; three
friendlies and a Euro 2000 semi-final in Brussels (2:1aet)
The Match:
Cristiano Ronaldo's first run with the ball, down the left, was met by boos around
Munich's Allianz Arena. He's going to have a hard time in the Premiership next season; if
he stays with Manchester United.
With twenty-five minutes gone, the crowd wanted things to speed up and
Ronaldo was till getting booed.
Just after the half an hour mark, Ricardo Carvalho, just inside the
Portugal penalty area, missed the ball with his right foot, fell on his rear and sneakily
hooked Thierry Henry with his left foot; then waved to the referee that the Arsenal
striker dived.
The cheats were at it again, but Zinedine Zidane did what Lampard,
Gerrard and Carragher couldn't; beat Ricardo from the spot.
At the other end, Portugal had a penalty claim turned down; as
Ronaldo's Greg Louganis impression earned a 9.7 from Felipe Scolari.
Half-time: (0:1)
Portugal needed to be more adventurous in the second-half but it was
France who came out, eventually, to show more initiative.
Within two minutes, Ricardo had a couple of scares. Thierry Henry ran
into the area on the left and his shot slipped under Ricardo's left arm; a slight
deflection turned the ball out for a corner. Then, after some Zinedine Zidane tricks,
Franck Ribery's rising shot was palmed skywards by Ricardo.
Luis Miguel made a meal of a non-challenge as the Portugal players
tried to con Jorge Larrionda. He probably just twisted his ankle.
France seemed content to sit deep for most of the second-half and the
referee must have left his cards at home, considering none of the dives from Portugal went
into the book.
Twelve minutes from time, Fabien Barthez scooped at Cristiano
Ronaldo's free-kick and Figo's header went over the bar.
The first yellow card was shown in the 83rd minute; to Ricardo
Carvalho, for a slide into Sylvain Wiltord. Carvalho will miss the next game.
Louis Saha, on for Henry, had only been on the pitch a couple of
minutes before he was booked and will miss the final (if France hold on).
Four minutes added on.
Portugal's last-chance corner and Ricardo comes up for the corner,
doing an over head kick to send the ball back into the penalty area.
Fabien Barthez had to make a couple of crucial saves in the last
seconds, even though one of them was offside.
Final Score:
Portugal 0 - France
1
 Goalscorers:
0:1 Zinedine Zidane (33pen)
Teams
Portugal: (Captain Luis Figo)
1 Alexandre Ricardo; 5 Fernando Meira, 13 Luis Miguel, 14 Jorge Nuno
Valente, 16 Ricardo Carvalho; 6 Francisco Costinha, 7 Luis Figo,
20 Anderson Deco, 17 Cristiano Ronaldo, 18 Nuno Maniche; 9 Pedro
Pauleta.
France: (Captain Zinedine Zidane)
16 Fabien Barthez; 3 Eric Abidal, 5 William Gallas, 15 Lilian Thuram, 19 Willy Sagnol; 4
Patrick Vieira, 6 Claude Makelele, 7 Florent Malouda, 10 Zinedine Zidane, 22 Franck
Ribery; 12 Thierry Henry.
Referee: Jorge Larrionda 
Substitutions:
63 Mins (Portugal) - 2 Paulo Ferreira on for 13 Luis Miguel
68 Mins (Portugal) - 11 Simao Sabrosa on for 9 Pedro Pauleta
69 Mins (France) - 11 Sylvain Wiltord on for 7 Florent Malouda
72 Mins (France) - 9 Sidney Govou on for 22 Franck Ribery
74 Mins (Portugal) - 23 Helder Postiga on for 6 Francisco Costinha
85 Mins (France) - 14 Louis Saha on for 12 Thierry Henry
 2 Yellow
Cards:
83 Mins - Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal) - Miss next game
87 Mins - Louis Saha (France) - Will Miss The Final
 0 Red Cards.
2006 World Cup Finals - Knockout Stage.
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