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Merci, Raul Raul blows penalty as France advances past Spain
Posted: Sunday June 25, 2000 06:42 PM
BRUGES, Belgium (AP) -- Spanish talisman Raul Gonzalez skied an 89th-minute penalty way over the crossbar leaving Youri Djorkaeff's brilliant winner to put France in the Euro 2000 semifinal after a 2-1 victory over Spain on Sunday. Raul, given the chance to take the spot kick because regular penalty taker Gaizka Mendieta had been substituted, had a golden chance to put the match into extra time after a foul by French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez on Abelardo Fernandez. But he didn't even force Barthez to make a save, firing the kick over the angle of the post and bar to the dismay of the Spanish fans and the delight of the French. Djorkaeff, France's fourth top goalscorer of all time with 26 goals, continued his knack of scoring vital goals and earned the world champion a semifinal against Portugal with a strike one minute before half-time. The outstanding Patrick Vieira, playing in place of his injured Arsenal teammate Emmanuel Petit, drove toward the center of Spain's defense and laid the ball right to Djorkaeff, who banged the ball between Santiago Canizares and the near post.
It was the 32-year-old Kaiserslautern player's second Euro 2000 strike after a goal as a substitute in France's 2-1 victory against the Czech Republic. "We lost because the world champion have that little bit extra that others don't," said Spanish coach Jose Antonio Camacho. "The result wasn't fair but we accept it." France briefly looked in trouble when Mendieta's 38th-minute penalty equalized a superb free kick Zinedine Zidane. But its ploy of resting eight of its players to face Spain during its last match against the Netherlands paid off handsomely. The world champion got stronger as the match went on, taking control with slick passing and tough tackling. Spain's desperation surfaced in the 70th minute when Paco escaped with a yellow card after literally wrestling Thierry Henry to the ground to stop a 50 yard (meter) run from the Arsenal forward. Zidane ran the Spanish ragged and marked a virtuoso performance with a perfectly placed 25-yard free kick to give France a 32nd-minute lead. But the Spaniards hit back in the 38th minute when Lilian Thuram hauled down the dangerous Pedro Munitis and Mendieta rolled in the penalty. Munitis who scored as a substitute in Spain's stunning 4-3 win against Yugoslavia, was Spain's most dangerous player and troubled the normally serene Thuram with a series of quick darting runs on the left. The Spaniards, who scored two injury time goals to beat Yugoslavia 4-3 in their third group game, should have forced extra time when French 'keeper Barthez pulled down Abelardo in a scramble close to the French posts and were awarded a penalty. But Raul blazed the spot kick over the bar. Camacho tried to be philosophical about Raul's penalty miss. "We have a very different feeling compared to after our last match," he said. "Penalties all depend on the man. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't. At least the players can now have their holidays." But he clearly felt that Spain is unlucky to be out. "We had the chance to go the semifinals and beat the world champion," he said. "The feeling we have is one of sadness and bitterness. Let's go home." French coach Roger Lemerre praised Zidane. "The two teams is similar as exemplified by Zidane and Raul," he said. "I congratulate Spain for the quality of its organization and its passing. But the French have the players that make the difference, one of them being Zidane." 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 to the bench and started with Christophe Dugarry in a five-man midfield with just Henry up front. The French had a great chance to take the lead in the second minute when 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 passes 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 push a curling left wing free kick from Josep Guardiola over the bar and then arched his back to make an acrobatic save from Raul's dipping lob after the Real Madrid striker had spotted 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 out. It looked a simple chance but he failed to make proper contact and the ball rolled wide. Just seconds into the second half Barthez made a brave save to preserve his team's lead by diving at the feet of Alfonso Peres as the forward was about to shoot from close range. But he was thankful to se Vieira block a goalbound header from Abelardo from Guardiola's left wing corner. Djorkaeff went close to adding a third eight minutes from the end when his deflected free kick was tipped around the post by Canizares. Then came the drama of Raul's penalty miss as the Spaniards almost grabbed an equalizer and they went close once more in injury time when substitute Ismael Urzaiz climbed to meet a left wing cross only to head too high. Lineups: Spain - Santiago Canizares; Michel Salgado, Paco Jemez, Agustin Aranzabal, Abelardo Fernandez; Josep Guardiola, Ivan Helguera (Gerard 77th), Pedro Munitis (Joseba Etxeberria 73rd), Gaizka Mendieta (Ismael Urzaiz 57th); Raul Gonzalez, Alfonso Perez. France - Fabien Barthez; Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu; Didier Deschamps, Youri Djorkaeff, Patrick Vieira, Christophe Dugarry, Zinedine Zidane; Thierry Henry (Nicolas Anelka 81st). Referee - Pierluigi Collina, Italy.
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