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'Whew' France looks to carry momentum into semis
Posted: Monday June 26, 2000 12:39 PM
KNOKKE-HEIST, Belgium (AP) -- With only two rest days before it meets Portugal on Wednesday, France won't have any time to savor its impressive quarterfinal win against Spain. But the world champion believes that the style in which it eliminated the Spanish will make up for any sore limbs when it faces Luis Figo and Co. in Brussels. "When you win you recover more quickly and when you win like we did, that makes it even more reassuring," midfielder Patrick Vieira said Monday. "I just hope the 22 players will be as well prepared on Wednesday." Spanish star Raul Gonzalez missed an 89th-minute penalty in France's 2-1 victory in Bruges on Sunday but the world champion dominated the second half with a performance of the highest quality. Zinedine Zidane, who ran Spain ragged all night, gave France the lead with a classic free kick. After Gaizka Mendieta's penalty equalizer, Youri Djorkaeff won the match, slamming in a spectacular goal after tremendous work by Vieira. France, looking to become the first country to add a European Championship to a world crown, plans to spend most of Monday and Tuesday resting, with only light training sessions planned. It was in top physical condition against Spain, justifying coach Roger Lemerre's decision to rest most of his first team for last Wednesday's match against the Netherlands. Players are oozing with confidence before the semifinal showdown in Brussels. "This French team has a real inner strength and that was demonstrated against Spain," said Marcel Desailly. Vieira, whose grandparents were born in the former Portuguese Cape Verde Islands, said France was able to impose itself physically against Spain as the match wore on. Vieira believes that will boost the team as it prepares to face Portugal. "There was a lot of tension in the match but the result was positive and physically we were positive," the Arsenal midfielder said. "We are here with a very professional attitude. We aren't here to get to the semifinal or quarterfinal but to win." "We had a bit of luck with the penalty at the end but deserved to win. The semifinal is another big match and we all need to be 100 percent," Vieira added. While Spain had no answer to Zidane's midfield trickery, France again showed it has the best organized defense in the world. Its famed back four wobbled a little after Mendieta's equalizer but was cast iron in the second half. France has never lost a match with Bixente Lizarazu, Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc and Desailly -- who have all won more than 50 caps -- in its lineup. Excluding its match against the Netherlands, when Lemerre fielded an experimental defense, France has yet to concede a goal in open play at Euro 2000. France came out of its clash with Spain with one minor injury worry. Christophe Dugarry fractured his nose but said he is confident of being fit to face Portugal. Emmanuel Petit, sidelined against Spain with a knee ligament problem, could also be back for the semifinal. France jubilant with victory over SpainPARIS -- France was jubiliant -- and relieved -- Monday following the French national team's tough 2-1 victory over Spain that put "the Blues" into the semifinals. "The Blues," as they are popularly known, take on Portugal in Wednesday's semifinal contest in Brussels. The streets of the French capital were empty Sunday night as most Parisians stayed glued to their television sets to watch what was widely regarded as the toughest Euro 2000 quarterfinal game. Some 19.2 million people had tuned in by the end of the game, according to the station TF1, which broadcast the game. It was the biggest TV audience of any station this year, according to TF1. "France Stronger Than The Referee," headlined France-Soir, referring to the "questionable" penalty slapped on French goalie Fabien Barthez in the 90th minute to give Spain a chance to draw even. "Whew," the paper said, after Raul Gonzalez, the cool, 22-year-old star of Real Madrid, fired the ball well over the bar to send Spain home -- a surprise blunder by the world's best-paid player. For Liberation, the left-leaning daily, the French performance was only "fair," and the "gutsy" match won with a measure of luck left a "sour" aftertaste. "Blues Squeezed Through to the Semis," Liberation wrote. "The Force is With Them" headlined the national sports daily L'Equipe, which called Sunday's "hair-raising" game the "most closely contested" fight for a semifinal berth. "The Blues suffered badly to get there, and even if they only conceded penalty goals, Spain's offense caused them considerable trouble," L'Equipe wrote. "That the managed to get through the second period safely, though breathless, is the sign, perhaps, that two years [after their 1998 World Cup victory], the force is with them," he wrote. President Jacques Chirac, on a visit to Germany, had a special television set up in the restaurant where he and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder dined with their wives in Hanover. The sound was turned off during the first half, but Chirac and Schroeder leaped to their feet when Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff scored. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, on hand for the game in Bruges, praised the French team for its cool-headedness under stress. "I've got a strong heart, and it was a good thing tonight," Jospin said. "It was very difficult to win. I'm very impressed by the French team's ability to play well in important games." Dugarry has broken nose, but should make semisKNOKKE-HEIST, Belgium -- France's Christophe Dugarry suffered a broken nose during Sunday's quarterfinal win over Spain but the injury should not rule him out of Wednesday's semifinal against Portugal, team officials said Monday. Dugarry played with a blood-stained shirt and cotton wool in his nostrils after his early collision with a Spaniard that had left him dazed. France won the game 2-1 with goals from midfielders Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff, but survived a late penalty scare when Spanish striker Raul Gonzalez blasted an injury-time spot kick high over the crossbar. France's spokesman Philippe Tournon told reporters Monday that France's only other injury concern is midfielder Emmanuel Petit who has missed the last two matches since damaging knee ligaments. There was no immediate word on whether Petit would be fit for selection for the semifinals.
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