FOOTBALL: BRAZIL 0-1 FRANCE

Brazil played too comfortably without much threat to the goal. The French defence had been very effective whole night to contain their Ronaldo and the midfield had been magnificent to keep the Brazilians quiet. If there is one player who made the difference, it has to be the legendary Zinedine Zidane. Many people kept on complaining about France being slowed down because of him during the first few matches. Now, will they still complain? The legend is now at his peak and playing as good as he ever was, only slower but still as accurate and as beautiful with the ball. Zinedine Zidane is my man of the match. He was magnificent on the field.

France did most of the attacking and it was natural that they deserved a victory over Brazil for all the hardwork in all departments. Still, we can see that their attack was pretty weak and so they must work harder in that aspect. Zidane's free kick to Henry made the difference to the match. It was weird that Henry was left unmarked to guide the ball into the net comfortably.

Brazil threw in Adriano, Cicinho and Robinho but it was proven to be too late to make any changes to the scoreline. Although Cicinho and Robinho made alot of impact when they came in, time was running out. Zidane, Vieira, Ribery and Makelele bossed around the midfield with such control we wondered what happened to the all-star Brazilian midfielders? The defence was again very shaky just like when facing Ghana. The Brazilians will have to blame themselves for the exit. Too much confidence? Too little urgency? Too relaxed? Well, they have four years to go to sort it out.