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France, Spain square off in quarterfinal
Posted: Sunday June 25, 2000 04:41 PM Second-Half Incidents47 - Barthez dives in to smother the ball and foil Alfonso in goalmouth scramble. 56 - YELLOW CARD. Alfonso for foul on Deschamps. 58 - SUBSTITUTION. Ismael Urzaiz for Mendieta. 60 - YELLOW CARD. Deschamps for dissent. 61 - YELLOW CARD. Guardiola for foul on Djorkaeff. 64 - YELLOW CARD. Salgado for foul on Henry. 71 - YELLOW CARD. Paco for foul on Henry. 72 - Guardiola's right foot shot from outside the area is deflected off Dugarry's shoulder over the bar. 72 - SUBSTITUTION. Joseba Etxeberria for Munitis. 77 - SUBSTITUTION. Gerard for Helguera. 82 - SUBSTITUTION. Nicolas Anelka for Henry. 83 - Djorkaeff right foot shot goes just wide. 89 - Raul balloons penalty over the bar after Abelardo brought down by Barthez. 90 - Alfonso cross is headed over by Urzaiz. Final Score: France 2, Spain 1 French take 2-1 lead into half timeBRUGES, Belgium (AP) - Youri Djorkaeff powered an angled shot between the 'keeper and the post to give World Cup holder France a 2-1 half time lead over Spain in a high-quality Euro 2000 quarterfinal on Sunday. After Zinedine Zidane had curled in a 23-meter free kick and Gaizka Mendieta replied with a penalty, the French regained the advantage a minute before the interval when Patrick Vieira found the forward with a diagonal pass and Djorkaeff drove it between Santiago Canizares and the post. The winner of the quarterfinal will meet Portugal in Brussels on Wednesday. The French went into the game on the back of a 3-2 loss to the Dutch, who crushed Yugoslavia 6-1 in another quarterfinal, while the Spaniards had won two games in a row after an upset loss to Norway in their opening game. The French dropped Nicolas Anelka tothe bench and started with Christophe Dugarry in a five-man midfield with just Thierry Henry up front. While the teams lined up for the prematch anthems a French fan ran onto the field and was quickly apprehended by security staff. Unlike the two Yugoslav fans who chased the referee during Spain's last game at the same Jan Breydel stadiu he did not appear threatening. The French had a great chance to take the lead in the second minute when Patrick Vieira climbed to meet a free kick by Zidane but his close range header was too high. The World Cup holder began to play some high-class soccer with lots of backheeled passe to open up the Spanish defense but French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was forced to make two good saves to keep the Spaniards out. In the 14th minute, he did well to puh a curling left wing free kick over the bar and then arched his back to make an acrobatic save from Raul's dipping lob after the Real Madrid striker had seen the 'keeper off his line. The Spaniards continued to threaten and claimed a penalty when a left wing cross struck Zidane's elbow but Italian referee Pierluigi Collina turned down their appeal. And the Juventus star had a great chance to fire the French ahead in the 29th minute when a leftwing cross from Dugarry found him in front of goal just six meters (yards) out. It looked a simple chance but he failed to make proper contact and the ball rolled wide. Zidane made up for that blunder three minutes later when the French were awarded a free kick a few meters outside the area and he curled the shot into the top left hand corner with a superbly struck shot. But the Spaniards hit back in the 38th minute when Lilian Thuram hauled down the dangerous Pedro Munitis and Mendieta rolled in the penalty. First-Half Incidents3 - Zidane free-kick from the right headed over the bar by Vieira. 16 - Deschamps crosses from the right, Dugarry heads over the bar, injures his nose and goes off for treatment. Returns after two minutes. 19 - Guardiola free-kick from the Spanish left is well saved by Barthez who gratefully turns the ball away for a corner. 21 - Raul is put through by Alfonso. He almost chips over Barthez who is eight metres off his line but manages to tip the ball over. 28 - Guardiola finds Munitis on the left. He cuts inside but shoots just wide. 29 - Dugarry feeds Zidane near goal but he scuffs his shot. 33 - GOAL. France 1 Spain 0. Zidane scores from a brilliant free-kick from 20 metres after Djorkaeff is brought down by Aranzabal. 38 - GOAL. France 1 Spain 1. Mendieta, from the penalty spot after Thuram brings down Munitis. 44 - GOAL. France 2 Spain 1. Djorkaeff fed by Vieira, who runs across the front of the area before releasing the ball, beats Canizares on his left hand post with a powerful shot from 10 metres. Fans stage pre-game protestBRUGES, Belgium -- Two protestors ran on the pitch while the Spanish national anthem was being played ahead of the country's Euro 2000 quarter-final against France on Sunday. The two men were wearing T-shirts calling for the 'repatriation of Basque prisoners' and had to be bundled away by stewards. A political protest from Basque nationalists marred the opening ceremony of the World Athletics Championships in Seville last summer. The Jan Breydel stadium in Bruges was also the scene of several security incidents during the match between Yugoslavia and Spain. Two Yugoslav supporters ran on to the pitch, one during and one after the game, while the referee was hit in the eye by a coin. Hierro out of Spain lineupBRUGES, Belgium (Reuters) -- Spain lined up without their captain Fernando Hierro for their Euro 2000 quarterfinal against France in Bruges on Sunday. The 32-year-old Real Madrid defender was suffering from a thigh strain picked up in Spain's second group game, a 2-1 win over Slovenia. Paco and Abelardo were the two center-backs, with Agustin Aranzabal preferred at left-back to the more attacking Sergi. Speedy winger Pedro Munitis was included in place of Joseba Etxeberria, with Raul and Alfonso as the two forwards. France lined up with Thierry Henry as a lone striker in an 4-2-3-1 formation. Emmanuel Petit was ruled out with a knee injury, leaving Didier Deschamps and Patrick Vieira as the two defensive midfielders, behind Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry and Youri Djorkaeff. The defense was as expected. Teams: France: 16-Fabien Barthez; 15-Lilian Thuram, 3-Bixente Lizarazu, 5-Laurent Blanc, 8-Marcel Desailly; 4-Patrick Vieira, 7-Didier Deschamps, 10-Zinedine Zidane, 6-Youri Djorkaeff; 12-Thierry Henry, 21-Christophe Dugarry. Spain: 1-Santiago Canizares; 2-Michel Salgado, 3-Agustin Aranzabal, 18-Paco, 5-Abelardo (captain); 4-Pep Guardiola, 9-Pedro Munitis, 7-Ivan Helguera, 16-Gaizka Mendieta; 10-Raul, 11-Alfonso. Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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