Zidane rescues France

Two late goals doom England in high-profile Euro 2004 showdown

England's Ashley Cole slides in to tackle Patrick Vieira. AP

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- It was the Euro 2000 final all over again.

In Rotterdam four years ago, France was moments from defeat against Italy in the European Championship final when Sylvain Wiltord equalized deep into injury time. David Trezeguet scored a golden goal winner and France won its second European title.

Sunday's 2-1 victory over archrival England was possibly even more dramatic.

France was close to its first loss in 19 games having conceded a goal for the first time in almost a year. Then Zinedine Zidane showed why he's the world's best player.

"It was an exceptional game, like we had in 2000 with Portugal and Italy," Zidane said. "In these two matches we managed to reverse the trend, and we did it again."

The France captain powered home an injury time free kick and, two minutes later, a penalty as Jacques Santini's men snatched the unlikely victory. In the space of 120 seconds, England went from the top of Euro 2004 group B to the bottom.

"It was the last chance free kick, we were not expecting a match like that," Zidane said.

In the Euro 2000 semifinal against Portugal, Zidane scored an injury-time penalty winner with the match heading for a penalty shootout. His nerve held again this time -- but England captain David Beckham's did not.

He went from hero to villain, missing a second-half penalty after setting up England's opening goal for Frank Lampard, in front of a 65,000 sellout at the Stadium of Light filled mostly with English fans.

Lampard's 38th-minute header from Beckham's free kick put England in command and was the first goal given up by France in 1,078 minutes -- 12 games. Beckham earned the free kick after being fouled by left-back Bixente Lizarazu.

Beckham missed a chance to make it 2-0 after Wayne Rooney -- capping a brilliant 40-meter (yard) run down the left side -- was pulled down by Mikael Silvestre. But French 'keeper Fabien Barthez guessed correctly and dived right to stop Beckham's spot kick.

"You have to create your own luck," Barthez said. "At 2-0 the match is over. With a Beckham penalty it is 90 percent luck for a goalkeeper and 10 percent concentration."

Barthez, who cost Marseille the UEFA Cup final when he gave away a first-half penalty against Valencia, saved France this time around -- proving again thrives on the big occasion.

"This match will enter history books," he said. Four years ago, Barthez's stunning late save denied Portugal a berth in the Euro 2000 final.

Beckham blamed himself for England's loss -- only the second under Eriksson in competitive matches.

"We battled for 89 minutes to win the game and fought really well," said Beckham.

"I hold my hands up to that," he said. "I couldn't have struck it (the penalty) any better, but he read me -- and fair play to Fabien."

"Sometime you get the run of the play and they got in the last couple of minutes. We didn't deserve that tonight, but that's football."

Santini praised Barthez.

"The goalkeeping of Fabien Barthez held France in the game," Santini said. "His penalty save was one of the turning points of the match. A save like that at such a time can only help psychologically."

Eriksson believes England should have won.

"We definitely deserved to win, we played really well," he said. "We have to overcome this very quickly and start again."

The victory puts France in command of Group B after Croatia and Switzerland played a 0-0 draw in the day's first match.

Zidane curled in a 23-meter (yard) free kick in the first minute of injury time to jolt a stadium filled mostly with English fans.

France earned the chance after Emile Heskey's crude foul on Claude Makelele. Zidane's kick looped over the wall and dipped viciously, giving 'keeper David James little chance.

In the third minute of stoppage time, striker Thierry Henry ran onto an underhit back pass from Steven Gerrard and was tripped as he rounded James.

"The referee (Markus Merk) made a nice gesture in only giving James a yellow card," said Barthez. "He went for the ball."

From the spot-kick, James dived left and the ball went right as Zidane notched his 25th international goal to spark of scenes of wild jubilation. Santini punched the air and sank to his knees in relief and players hugged each other.

Just like they did in Rotterdam four years ago. 

Beckham rues missed penalty chance

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- England captain David Beckham rued his missed penalty chance after England suffered a last gasp 2-1 loss to France in its opening Euro 2004 match Sunday.

Beckham helped England take the lead at Lisbon's Stadium of Light -- his free kick was headed into goal by Frank Lampard after 38 minutes -- but missed the chance to make it 2-0 after Wayne Rooney was pulled down in the box by Mikael Silvestre.

French 'keeper Barthez guessed correctly and dived right to stop Beckham's spot kick.

"I've held my hand up, we could have gone 2-0 up and the game would have probably been over but that's football," Beckham said.

"I don't think I could have struck it any better but I think the goalkeeper has read where I was going to put it and that's unfortunate for me. If I had put it away, maybe it would have been all over but we're not going to know that now."

England lost the match in injury time when Zinedine Zidane scored on a long-range free kick and then a penalty two minutes later.

"We can take a lot from that game, to play against one of the best teams in the world and we've outplayed them for 90 minutes," Beckham said. "They've scored two goals in the last two minutes of extra time. We had a lot of young lads out there who played as if they had been around for a long time."

Beckham said the team would lift itself for its second match against Switzerland on Thursday in Coimbra.

"I'll move on. We'll lift ourselves for Switzerland. We just have to lift ourselves. We can take a lot from the 90 minutes that we've played. We played a great game tonight. It doesn't help when you lose the game at the end.

"Obviously losing tonight doesn't put us in the best position. Three games, we've got to win the next two now."

England plays Croatia on June 21.

Beckham missed his last penalty for England -- in a 0-0 Euro 2004 qualifying draw against Turkey in Istanbul last October. That time, he slipped on the grass and kicked the ball over the bar.

"I've definitely had lower points in my career," Beckham said. "I've been through some worse and the World Cup was worse."

Beckham returned in shame from the 1998 World Cup in France after being sent off for kicking out at Argentina's Diego Simeone in a second round match, which England lost on a penalty shootout. He was vilified in the press, hung in effigy and jeered wherever he went before resurrecting his reputation with a series of standout performances with former club Manchester United and England.

Santini: Barthez's penalty save the turning point

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- French coach Jacques Santini called Fabien Barthez's penalty save from David Beckham the turning point of France's Euro 2004 Group B match against England Sunday.

"The goalkeeping of Fabien Barthez held France in the game," Santini said after France's 2-1 victory. "His penalty save was one of the turning points of the match. A save like that at such a time can only help psychologically."

England missed a chance to make it 2-0 after Wayne Rooney -- capping a 40-meter (yard) run down the left side -- was pulled down in the box by Mikael Silvestre. But French 'keeper Barthez guessed correctly and dived right to stop Beckham's spot kick.

If Beckham had converted his 72nd-minute spot-kick, England would have jumped ahead 2-0, leaving France with a lot of ground to make up and at a distinct psychological disadvantage.

"England gave us a very difficult match and at halftime I told the players we had a big job to do," Santini said. "France started the second half well but I have to say that penalty save from Fabien boosted us. That was a big psychological blow in our favor."

England took a 1-0 lead in the 38th-minute when Frank Lampard drove in a header off a David Beckham free kick. They missed out on making it 2-0 with Beckham's kick but held onto their advantage until extra time.

Zidane scored twice in second-half injury time as the defending champions rallied to win their first Group B game of the tournament.

The Real Madrid star drove home a 23-meter free kick and then a penalty two minutes later to deny England victory before a 65,000 sellout at the Stadium of Light.

"It was a strange game, all the best chances came from similar situations and all the goals came from set pieces," Santini said. "We got the victory and I congratulate my players. But it took two teams to make it a great match."

And the lesson from such a last minute victory?

"You need to always believe," according to Santani. "This is an ambitious group and I have enormous confidence in it.

"It proved itself by reversing the score with goals by an exceptional Zinedine Zidane against a remarkable England team."

Summary

France 2 England 1 - result

European Championship, Group B

Scorers:

France - Zinedine Zidane 90+1, 90+3pen

England - Frank Lampard 38

Missed penalty: David Beckham (England) 73

Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 65,000

Teams:

France (4-4-2): 16-Fabien Barthez; 15-Lilian Thuram, 5-William Gallas, 13-Mikael Silvestre (19-Willy Sagnol 79), 3-Bixente Lizarazu; 7-Robert Pires (11-Sylvain Wiltord 76), 4-Patrick Vieira, 6-Claude Makelele (17-Olivier Dacourt 90+4), 10-Zinedine Zidane (captain); 12-Thierry Henry, 20-David Trezeguet

England (4-4-2): 1-David James; 2-Gary Neville, 15-Ledley King, 6-Sol Campbell, 3-Ashley Cole; 7-David Beckham (captain), 11-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard, 8-Paul Scholes (18-Owen Hargreaves 76); 9-Wayne Rooney (21-Emile Heskey 76), 10-Michael Owen (23-Darius Vassell 69)

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

Linesmen: Christian Schraer (Germany), Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)

French and English fans mingle at showdown

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- English and French fans took over the streets and squares of central Lisbon Sunday, kicking soccer balls, singing and chanting ahead of the two teams' opening Euro 2004 match.

The Praca Dom Pedro was full of flags bearing the red and white cross of St. George, marked with cities and towns from all over England. Fans, many without shirts in the 35 degree Centigrade (95 Fahrenheit) sunshine, stood chatting and cheering with cans and bottles of beer.

French fans wearing the Les Bleus shirts mingled freely, singing the national anthem of "La Marseillaise" in one corner of the square while English fans sang "Britannia Rules the Waves".

But the French were vastly outnumbered by the English, who had draped flags on statues, outside hotel rooms, on bus shelters and across the windows of outdoor cafes.

Soccer balls were kicked around the square between the fans and over the cars. One ball was kicked into a taxi, while another went through a shop window and was confiscated by the shop owner.

Cars flying Portuguesee flags honked their horns as they drove past, drawing cheers from the crowd.

"It's all been very friendly and there hasn't been a problem so far," said Andrew Murray from Tewksbury in central England. He and his friend Jon Wood had arrived on Friday to watch the match at the Stadium of Light. A sell-out 65,000 crowd was expected at the game.

"We had a drink with some Swedish fans last night and we've had a great time."

The only minor incident occured at Rossio Square when a group of England fans tried to burn French flag. APTN footage also showed England fans jeering at a coach full of French fans being driven through the square, as security forces controlled the crowds.

In the larger Praca Comercio by Lisbon's harbor, the atmosphere was more muted, with fans sitting under umbrellas and sipping beer and queuing patiently for the portable toilets.

"The English are fantastic, we don't have anything laid on for us," said Fabrice Lemoine, who had traveled from Paris.

"There are hardly any French, we are not as passionate as the English. The French don't get as excited. We don't go to matches when we are five years old, it's not in our culture."

One man was painting faces of fans, another was using a bag for golf clubs to carry around flags to sell. Off the Praca Dom Pedro, a film crew was filming scenes for a movie entitled "The Other Half", using the fans as a backdrop.

Saturday night, Portuguese police clashed with English fans at the central Rossio square after scuffles broke out. Four people were taken away by police who moved in when the fans spilled onto the street and stopped traffic.

Riot police quickly moved in the calm the situation and a series of arrests were made and security forces remained at the scene to ensure the road stayed clear.

Local people said the trouble started when a bus carrying members of the band passed near the English. The Portuguese alleged a gas canister was thrown onto the bus, which also was carrying children, by the English.

The band got off the bus and started throwing bottles and anything else that came to hand at the English.

At least one English fan appeared to be hurt but there was no definite information on injuries.

Portuguese police attempted to keep the two sides apart.

Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.