Credit where credit is due?
Found this article at smh.com.au. Although I agree that the Socceroos would not have beaten Germany if they made the semi-finals, I will not give Italy any credit for progressing as far as they have. The style of football that they play is disgraceful…so much diving and theatrics - it would be great if they played soccer and left the drama and BS out of the game.
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Thankfully the team with the second best actors, Portugal, were beaten by France today 1-0. Cristiano Ronaldo will be right up there with Grosso from Italy as the two biggest villains in the whole tournament. Ronaldo dived theatrically numerous times against France, but thankfully the referee didn’t fall for any of it (on a side note, today’s officiating was the best of the tournament so far and hopefully the same referee will control the final). France were awarded a penalty after a clear foul on Henry in the box - to be fair Henry definitely sold it, but the referee made the correct call and Zidane made no mistake on the penalty kick.
Zidane connects on the penalty kick
France vs Italy in the final. France is a great story, looking to send the legendary Zidane out on a winning note. What a great end to a glorious career that would be - winning the World Cup final in your final match. Zidane is now the favourite to win the Golden Ball award; he has been an inspirational leader and has recaptured the form that made him the world’s best player in the late 90s and early 00s. The only way I see France losing this match is if Barthez makes a huge blunder in goals - his effort today in denying Ronaldo’s free kick would have had every French person’s heart in their mouth. Barthez can be brilliant, but he can also make stupid mistakes - let’s hope for France’s sake that he doesn’t attempt another volleyball save again.
I don’t want Italy to win, and I’ll be really disappointed if they do. A team that shouldn’t have made it past the round of 16 that goes on to win the whole tournament in the manner that they have played would make me sick.
France 2 vs Italy 0
italy may not have deserved to get past the round of 16, but france didn’t even deserve to get past the group stage. I won’t be crying any tears for Zidane when he goes off a loser.
Why didn’t they deserve to get out of the group stage? The drew with Switzerland, smashed Togo, and although the score didn’t reflect it they beat South Korea. Only the stupid ref denied them a goal that clearly crossed the goalline. Of course they deserved to make it out of the group stage - the fact that they’re in the final after beating Spain, Brazil, and Portugal shows that.