Last night’s proceedings were a spectacle to behold and I expect tonight’s to be the same.
I am talking about World Cup footie, in case you’ve lost sight, while ducking your heads to avoid recent low-flying birds of a different feather, of other endeavours still, er, endeavouring here on Earth.
Portugal v. France:
As with the first semifinal, stories abound pertaining to this fixture, stories that are not necessarily all related to the actual game that will commence on the pitch:
- Portugal have openly admitted to wanting to extract a bit of revenge for a loss to France six years ago, in the Euro 2000 semi-finals
- Deco and Costinha return to the Portuguese midfield after serving suspensions against England in the last match
- Six of France’s starting XI have bookings on their record from their last match played and would miss the final should they receive one here and France win
- Portugal are the only nation among the semi-finalists never to have reached a World Cup final, much less win the prize
- The two nations have combined to give up only three goals so far in the tournament, so goals will probably be hard to come by in this one, as well
Portugal should be very happy to have a rested Deco and Constinha back because they will be major keys to shackling France’s rejuvenated and electrifying midfield and forwards. If Portugal play as lackadaisically as did Brasil against France, which I don’t anticipate, book France into the final. Though Portugal’s defence has been stingy the past three and a half weeks, allowing just a solitary goal so far, if the midfielders don’t at least partly contain a now-rampant Zidane and Vieira, there will be loads of trouble for Portugal.
On the flip side, France are rightly favoured. There should be no reason to start thinking that les Bleus are suddenly going to revert to their group stage selves, not with the finish line so very much in sight. The French defence, like Portugal’s, has been very tough, conceding only a slow-motion crap goal to Korea and a penalty to Spain. The defence put a wiltering hammer to Brasil’s attack, but Portugal are not going to be as uninspired and will be more dangerous.
While Portugal are going to have concern themselves with Zidane, Henry, Ribery, Vieira, and more, France’s concern will be of a different hue: not allowing themselves to be drawn into Portugal’s less-than-honourable style of play. Whereas Portugal cannot allow Zidane, Henry, & Co., to run riot, France cannot allow themselves to be suckered into a barroom brawl like Holland and England were.
In the end, I believe France’s experience prevails. Zidane and his mates can feel the Cup nearly in their grasp and I think they’ll nick a tight one late in regulation or in extra time.
Of course, I’ve been known to be wrong on these things…
36 Comments
dave, although I REALLY enjoy your daily analysis of the games, WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU TO MAKE A PREDICTION FOR THIS GAME ?!! now that’s it, we’re doomed…
I mean, remember yesterday ? even though you very nicely avoided making a direct prediction, everybody could easily understand your inner views on the result of the game.
see what happenned BECAUSE OF YOU ?!
anyway… whatever the result of tonight’s game, keep writing and I’ll keep reading, it’s a real pleasure to get the “no-bullshit” view of a fellow footie fan.
interesting note: it’s probably the first (and last !) time the rosbeefs will cheer the frogs !
and “Allez les Vieux !”
sorry ’bout that. i thought about not giving a prediction, but no france supporters requested that i not, so i went ahead with it. i just hope to hell i’ve not jinxed les bleus…!!
Nah, they’ll be fine… Not even a Brit can do that to them! [Remember that something like a quarter of the full team, 6 out of 23, play in the UK :D]
Allez les vieux alright!
Allez les bleus! I hope France wins the World Cup.
Who wants it more? Who’ll be giving it all They’ve got…
Allez les bleus! Since, I want to see France and Italy in Final Match.
Um, people you might not want to forget about the PorkandCheese midfield. Figo, Ronaldo, Maniche, Deco are all world class players, on world class club teams. I am a big time supporter of the Portuguese and I’m thirlled to see them get so far. I predicted a semi-final appearance, so hopefully they’ll kick it up a notch against France and make it to the finals. France are a fantastic side, but recent performances (except that surge against Spain and Brasil) lead me to think otherwise. I think on paper France are a better team, but then again, so was Netherlands and England…
I predicted a Portuguese victory over Nederlands, and England, and I predict one tonight. (3 times a charm!)
Forca Portgual!
“While Portugal are going to have concern themselves with Zidane, Henry, Ribery, Vieira, and more, France’s concern will be of a different hue: not allowing themselves to be drawn into Portugal’s less-than-honourable style of play. Whereas Portugal cannot allow Zidane, Henry, & Co., to run riot, France cannot allow themselves to be suckered into a barroom brawl like Holland and England were.”
I guess Ronaldo “provoked” Boulharouz into smashing his foot into his thigh. I guess Carvalho “provoked” Rooney into smashing his nuts.
C’mon, i’ve heard of sore loosers but this is too much…
Dave, suddenly you’re using capitals and stuff! It’s like a different writer…but same dry wit…keep it up at any rate!
sore losers!?!!? what!?!? you must be joking! any of the losses by nations i supported have already been forgotten. portugal beat england because they were the better team and that’s been said already. had england beaten portugal, i’d still slag off portugal because they’re shit. i’m less a sore loser than they are an eyesore to watch play football.
portugal’s style of football since the ‘00 euro championships has been borderline disgraceful. they dive, they irritate, they antagonise, they whinge, they are average georgie footballer’s worst nightmare because of their dishonourable style of play. they are perhaps the only nation on the planet that would give me cause to cheer for italy in a world cup final.
as for pretty boy, there are many reasons why cristiano ronaldo is one of the most despised footballers on the planet–and many of those reasons are not fit to print–and why boulharouz tried to put his boot through the oscar winner’s thigh. and i don’t much like figo, deco, maniche, ricardo and the rest of the portuguese squad, either.
the shame of it all is that, like italy, i don’t understand why portugal play such crap football when they have so much quality and natural gifts. for shit’s sakes, ronaldo is a dream talent, but i refuse to acknowledge it because of his antics and histrionics. if he ever signed for my beloved newcastle, not that he’d want to sign for perennial underachievers, it would be a bitter pill to swallow for us because geordies would rather not have the sideshow that comes with him and his amazing talent.
you know you’ve accomplished something, dubious though it may be, when all of england are cheering for france in any sport. that in and of itself is an indictment of portuguese footie because most english would rather have their genitalia gnawed off by a hydrophobic sloth than openly admit to cheering for the folks across the channel.
thanks for the therapy session. i feel better having unloaded all of this on you, doctor. check’s in the mail.
p.s.: i can’t say, however, that i totally despise all aspects of portuguese football because my favourite manager in football right now is jose mourinho; he’s the gaffer for a team i’ve always despised, he’s giving alex ferguson a run for the money as the most hated club manager in england, he’s an arrogant arse in the minds of most england club supporters, yet i love the guy. he’s blunt, honest, witty, and i begrudge him nothing for winning the EPL his first two years in london. i wish he’d fancy a move to the northeast of england to manage the toon…*sigh*
sewing, still can’t get it up (CAPS, i mean) for making comments, though… i guess england’s loss has given me the impetus to see things in a different, perhaps more capital, light.
cheers for the kudos, though.
일 대 빵 at half time…
Allez les bleus !
On est en finale, On est en finale !
France: 1 goal
Portagee: 50 dives.
At least in 2008, they can represent Portugal in the diving events…
MWAHAHAHAHAHA
I think Ribery alone dived more then the entire Portuguese team. Still, France played more intelligently and deserve to be in the final. Congrants France!
Err…meant to say Congrats of course
Dissidentdave: Portugal isn’t alone when it comes to diving. Holland for example. Robben is a world class diver. Henry and Ribery for France. Even Joe Cole is prone to a fall now and then. And don’t get me started on Brazil…Ronaldo must have broken a rib from all the diving during the match against France.
To sum it up, all i’m saying is that it is unfair to single out Portugal for diving. All the other teams do it too, as much, if not more *cough*ITALY*cough*.
Come on Madne0, being disappointed is one thing, but come on. This team of yours, they spent their time on the lawn. Ribéry falls because he runs too fast and doesn’t think what he’s going to do next. C. Ronaldo, he drops while standing idle, he *jumps* litterally in the goal-keeper’s area – as the replay clearly shows…
I would’ve have preferred a *real* goal, but I’ll take whatever victory comes our way.
Well France didn’t have the spellbinding night that they had against Brasil but they played a style that will suit them well against the Italians. I was impressed with France’s defense. Ronaldo’s one-on-one play was decent but overall Portugal’s passing game didn’t produce much for them. By far, Portugal’s most lackluster performance of the tournament.
Mr. dissidentdave, in all respect to your opinion of Portugal, in this tournament they played above board UNTIL last night. I’ve seen much much worse from them in the past and I saw a lot worse from other teams in this World Cup. I mean Robbens and Van Bommel deserve to be admitted to the World Diving Hall of fame after their shamefull performances. As for ballroom brawls, in the Nether Regions game that was all Dutchwork. Fooey on them!
That being said, Portugal went back to its old ways last night and commenced diving operations. Too bad really. I don’t understand why a team with that much talent resorts to falling when they could have produced more effective scoring opportunities if they play through. Portugal deserved to lose tonight. Looking forward to the finale!
PS, dave you ought to look into a sports column around here. There’s enough of a foreign football following here to warrant, and I think the comments on this blog show the good response you would get. You have a knack for it. Great work!
I think we’re all missing the bigger story here… HOLY CRAP! Dave called a match right!
I think the officiating deserves a comment as well. That was perhaps the best reffed game so far. Larrionda deserves kudos for not being taken in by the Portuguese whining. A well called penalty kick and only two yellow cards are other evidences of the good job he did. Hope the final goes as well…
DDA,
you counted right…50 dives by Portuguese ..Ronaldo constantly dived and dived…But, I would love to give “The Champion of Super Dive” title to brilliant Thierry Henry. There was definitely contact in 32 min., but we all witnessed how badly Henry want a PK with his dive.
The French did enough to hold on to a deserved 1-0 victory. But, a bit disappointing game. Once France took the lead they weren’t interested in getting a second goal.
Anyway Sunday the final,
Blue vs Blue!
Allez Les Blues!
Forza Italia!
Looking forward to a great final.
We should all be thankful that the flopping Portuguese did not reach the final. There is a futbol God. Bye bye Figo!
wow, what a stressful game… I have to disagree with MrChips, I believe portugal played an amazing football today, especially on the midfield. after the goal the frenchmen kind of “decided” to shut down the curtain and started playing extremely low, giving away the midfield to the portuguese. it was painful to see barthez simply kicking the ball far, only to see it come back 10 secs later… the frenchmen didn’t steal the game, they had an amazing defence, as always, but there was no “magic” as there was last saturday, and had the goal been scored by the portuguese first, they would have deserved it greatly.
not sure if we can call it luck, but something more was on the side of the french tonight, and I’m really happy about it
on another note, C.Ronaldo is disconcerting: he plays an amazing football, but his shameless attemps at cheating are despicable. I should add “as ALL shameless attemps at cheating by other players are”, the only difference being the frequency of the dives. dives are a given: give him the ball, you KNOW he’s gonna to dive. and he deserves a prize for this “jump/dive” in the p-box, that was plain scandalous…
in the end I’d say that I’ve been more impressed by portugal’s performance tonight than by italy’s yesterday… that doesn’t mean that they’ll be easier to play on sunday, simply that portugal was really good I believe.
Br, really??! you thought Portugal played amazing? Well, I guess that shows how the same game can be viewed so differently. I guess I was expecting more from them. I thought Portugal showed a lot of promise in the opening minutes but after that, until the last couple minutes of injury time I thought they played completely devoid of creativity. They played possession ball in the midfield but didn’t create anything. Too many times Figo crossed the ball to an area instead of to a player and Ronaldo danced flawlessly through defenders but was more intent on his movement than on finding an open man. Oh well, I could be full of crap…it was 4am here when it started and with me “full of crap” is always a possibility.^_*
“Ribéry falls because he runs too fast and doesn’t think”
Then why did he ask for a foul when he fell? If he just tripped and fell, he’d get up. No, he dived. Several times. But hey, let’s not argue on who’s diving and who’s not. France won, they were the better team, congratulations.
PS: Portugal played like crap. Figo, Deco and Pauleta were a disgrace.
MadneO,
I agree that Deco and Pauleta were anonymous, but Figo deserved better. He had young legs until the 90th minute, and if only his header were a foot lower.
What happened to Nuno Gomes?
Maybe I am harsh on C. Ronaldo. But that’s because he could be a great player. One of the best. But his attitude spoils everything. He should look on Figo, or… Zidane!
Portugal was an exciting team. C.Ronaldo, Figo and others all played well, ran well and passed well.
Too bad that they gave up a penalty kick (Henry acting?).
After that, all French played defense and when a team of world-class caliber plays all-out defense, only Brazillians can score.
Too bad. Even though I knew the French would win due to their experienced players, I hoped Portugal would win.
Well, I just hope now the French will beat the dirty Italians.
This Germany WorldCup virtually has laid an egg since Brazil was eliminated.
in the US, the local news are concentrating on World Cup = Henry acting/diving in slow motion. Over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Not that they would ever sell the World Cup to Americans anyway.
so to sum things up, the Italians dodged the Austrailians with a dive to go up 1-0 at the very end. That saved them to go from a group of 16 to a group of 8.
The French dive against Portugal to earn an early one 1-0, against Portugal. Portugal desparately tries the same, but the refs don’t budge. And both sides play good defense to put it at 1-0.
So, both the Italians and French enter the World Cup Finals, handsomely saved by the refs.
Ahem.
I think I can still hear voices saying that South Korea was helped by the refs to the final four.
Whatever. Those are just words of elitist European football clubs trying to excuse themselves of failure against an North East Asian club that isn’t their match on paper. The ball is round, gentlemen, and you must play the game to determine who actually wins, ties, or loses.
Anyway, South Korea did tie France 1:1. Not by skill. But by pure hustle and a good coach’s game plan.
Wjk,
huh?
Anyways, looking forward to the final game (as always).
The French dive against Portugal to earn an early one 1-0, against Portugal. wjk
I disagree. The penalty was not a bad call. Anyway, France deserved to win.
Well, let’s face it: every asshat of player from any nation tries to dive, cheat and flop in the penalty area from occasion to occasion. What disgusts me most is, that Portuguese and Italian teams have made diving and cheating an everyday and regular part of their play strategy… and their fans don’t question it, but rather comply. That’s so degenerated.
Although Rooney is a dumb idiot, but he’s a talented striker filled with testosterone. In contrast, his teammate C. Ronaldo in Manu is a gifted player, but an egomanic, pansy and sneaky piece of shit without character. Wish that Rooney cut his head clean off, when they meet again in Manchester’s locker room.
wish them French all the best. A second star on Zidane’s shirt would be well deserved for such an inspriring and one of the best player, this earth has seen so far.
And a little help from the referee not calling a valid goal… Not that it did them much good, seeing that they packed a bit early, didn’t they?
wjk,
I concur.
And, I like to say, “Ahem.” right along side of you.
Ahem, Ahem, Ahem to all who diss Koreans and Korean soccer without proper justification. And, to WonJoonChoi who likes to sell out other Koreans to enhance his stature.
Uncle Tom?
Thierry embellished, but he did not dive. That was a straightforward penalty. Even Carvalho, the defender, admitted afterward that it was a penalty. He got caught out of position on Henry’s flick and laid his leg out bare. There should be no controversy on that call.
donnieknutts: “What happened to Nuno Gomes?”
Rumour has it Scolari caught him smoking(!!!) after practice and shelved him. This happened before the game against Holland. Don’t know if it’s true, but the truth is he never so much as warmed up after the last game in the group phase…
dda, let’s believe FIFA that says that wasn’t a goal. They didn’t call a ball from Germany’s Ballack that hit an Italian’s hand, too. I suppose Italy got helped in the German game, too? Rest it, dda. I suppose to you, South Korea gets favors from refs left and right, no matter who they play, no matter where they play. They must have gave all the refs free Hyundais and Sam Sungs. Lucky them.
Donnieknutts, US local sports news says Henry deserves an award for “best actor” in the World Cup. That’s a unanimous agreement in the New York City local news coverage. Granted, they rarely watch the sport.
Embellish, dive, there may be a difference. But, there is a strong chance the ref didn’t call anything if Henry didn’t dive very unusually. I mean, watch the damn replay in slow motion.