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World champions dethroned - in the last semi-final of the World Championship on Saturday, the French national team sensationally defeated the Brazilian team 1-0, eliminating them from the competition. The winning goal for the French, who will face the Portugal team in the semi-finals, was scored by Thierry Henry.
Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena, 48,000 spectators Referee - Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain) Brazil 0 - 1 France 57' [0 - 1] Thierry Henry
Brazil: Dida, Cafu (Cicinho), Lucio, Juan, Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Silva, Ze Roberto, Kaka (Robinho), Pernambucano Juninho (Adriano), Ronaldinho, Ronaldo
France: Fabien Barthez, Willy Sagnol, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele, Franck Ribery (Sidney Govou), Zinedine Zidane, Florent Malouda (Sylvain Wiltord), Thierry Henry (Louis Saha)
In the starting lineup of the Brazilian national team, Juninho appeared in place of Adriano, and the "magic quartet" turned into a trio. Ronaldinho took the position behind the forward, so the Brazilian tactical formation on the field became 4-4-1-1. Meanwhile, the French national team chose a 4-2-3-1 formation with the lone striker Thierry Henry up front.
Both teams started the match cautiously, stopping the attacks of their opponents far from their own goal.
In the first 10 minutes, the Brazilians attempted several long-range shots, but none of the attempts posed a real danger. A little later, after a pass from Ronaldinho, Ronaldo took a shot with his head, but it was inaccurate.
The French responded with a long shot from Franck Ribery, but the ball flew high above the goal.
In the 25th minute, the veteran of the Brazilian national team, Cafu, received a yellow card, receiving the most warnings in the history of the World Championships. It was his sixth yellow card in the World Cup.
A few minutes later, Claude Makelele took a header, but the Brazilian national team managed to defend. A little later, Eric Abidal tried his luck, but the ball flew beside the goal.
At the end of the first half, Patrick Vieira could have been one-on-one with the Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, but his run was cut short by Juan. The latter received a yellow card for this episode. This was followed by two penalty attempts from the French national team, but they did not pose a significant threat.
It was clear from the first half that the teams, understanding the importance of this match, were not inclined to take risks and were primarily concerned with the safety of their own goal. The score after the first half of the game was 0-0.
In the second half, Patrick Vieira started with a dangerous header, but the ball flew just wide. A little later, T.Henry scored a goal, but the referee flagged for offside.
In the 57th minute, Zinedine Zidane, who played a great game with a penalty kick, made a pass to T.Henry, who, this time, legally, without being marked closely, directed the ball into the goal. The French unexpectedly took the lead with a score of 1-0.
A few minutes later, F.Ribery crossed dangerously from the flank, but the ball flew past Juan's feet behind the goal line.
The coach of the Brazilian national team, Carlos Alberto Parreira, tried to strengthen the attack by sending in Adriano instead of Juninho, and later Robinho, but it did not help the Brazilians.
In one of the counterattacks, the youngest player of the French national team, F.Ribery, could have scored, but Dida saved his team. In the 81st minute, Robinho, who appeared on the field after the substitution, missed the goal.
At the end of the match, the best player in the world, Ronaldinho, had a chance to score, but his shot flew wide of the goal. After this episode, the Frenchman Louis Saha had a header shot and several attempts by the Brazilians to change something in this match, but none of the attempts reached the target.
The match ended with a 1-0 victory for the French national team, and unable to shoot into the goal throughout the match, the 2002 world champions Brazil were forced to head home early.
In the semi-finals of the World Championship, the French will face the Portugal team, which eliminated the England national team in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout.
