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In Lithuania, we will definitely see the world football champions. This became clear on Wednesday when France defeated Portugal by a minimal score of 1-0 in the semifinals and advanced to the final, where they will face the team of Italy on Sunday. Both strongest teams of this tournament will be future opponents of our national team in the European Championship qualifiers.
Allianz Arena in Munich, 66,000 spectators Referee - Horacio Elizondo (Uruguay) Portugal 0 - 1 France 33' [0 - 1] Zinedine Zidane (pen.) Portugal A.Ricardo; L.Miguel (63' P.Ferreira), F.Meira, R.Carvalho, Nuno Valente; F.Costinha (74' H.Postiga), N.Maniche, A.Deco, C.Ronaldo, L.Figo; P.Pauleta (68' S.Simao). France F.Barthez; W.Sagnol, L.Thuram, W.Gallas, E.Abidal; F.Ribery (72' S.Govou), P.Vieira, Z.Zidane, C.Makelele, F.Malouda (69' S.Wiltord); T.Henry (85' L.Saha)
The match started with both teams being cautious so it's not surprising that in the first minute, Frenchman Florent Malouda had the first chance to score, but his shot went wide. A few moments later, the Portuguese responded with a dangerous attack - Deco's shot from 18 meters was caught by experienced goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. After playing almost 10 minutes, another dangerous shot from a similar situation specialist Maniche, but this time the Portuguese was a bit inaccurate and the ball went over the goal. Later the game calmed down a bit. The French team, with many experienced players, reduced the pace and took the initiative, but despite a few raids into the penalty area, they were unable to create chances for a long time. However, in the 33rd minute their efforts bore fruit - Thierry Henry received a pass in the penalty area, dribbled past defender Ricardo Carvalho, leaving him no choice but to bring down the Frenchman. The referee didn't hesitate to award a penalty kick, which was successfully converted by one of the best goalkeepers of the last decade, Z.Zidane.
In the remaining time of the first half, no more dangerous chances were created, and all of Portugal's efforts to 'earn' a penalty kick were ignored by the referee. Despite the score, the beginning of the second half seemed much more active for the French. Initially, T.Henry broke into the penalty area, but his shot from the left side was blocked by goalkeeper Ricardo. A few moments later, the same Ricardo had to demonstrate all his skills again, redirecting a powerful shot by Franck Ribery from a distance beyond the goal line. Meanwhile, the solitary striker of the Portuguese national team Pauleta rarely threatened the opponent's goal, and the first and only better chance to score came in the 53rd minute when he managed to avoid the opponent's defense in the penalty area but shot wide of the goal. The result did not change, and the game seemed to stall for a long time. The leading French team did not show much effort to attack the opponent's goal, and the Portuguese national team, although trying to take advantage of every opportunity to fall in the penalty area, not only did not earn a penalty kick but also did not create a single real scoring chance. Perhaps the most realistic chance to equalize the score can be called the French goalkeeper F.Barthez - in the 77th minute the experienced player clumsily - right in front of himself - deflected the shot of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had caused controversy with the English, but Luis Figo, rushing to the ball, shot over the crossbar. In the remaining time, passions flared on the sidelines, but the Portuguese were unable to seriously threaten the opponent's goal, which had also attacked sluggishly in the second half but probably deservedly won to the French football players.
***Statistics Portugal - France Ball possession 55% - 45% Shots 11 - 3 Shots on goal 4 - 2 Yellow cards 1 - 1 Lost balls 52 - 52 Short passes 348 - 252 Successful passes 0 - 1 Corners 8 - 3 Offsides 11 - 16 Shots from 22 meters out 6 - 2
