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Vive la France
Host nation routs Brazilians 3-0 in World Cup final
Posted: Sunday July 12, 1998 05:16 PM
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Zidane (right) carried his country to the title on the strength of two header goals (AP) |
PARIS (CNN/SI) -- The idea for the World Cup was French in origin.
Sunday night the World Cup trophy finally belonged to France.
France stunned Brazil 3-0,
thanks to midfielder Zinedine Zidane's two goals and a stifling defense
which kept the tournament's top-scoring team from creating many chances.
Zidane lifted his country into a 2-0 lead with two header goals in the
first half, and the French held off Brazil in second half from a defensive
stance. France was forced to finish the match with 10 men after defender
Marcel Desailly was sent off the field because he picked up his second
yellow card in the 67th minute. Zidane twice was able to get close to
the net in the first half, and both times he was able to get his head on
the ball and direct it past Brazil's goalkeeper Taffarel. The first goal
came in the 27th minute off a corner kick. Emmanuel Petit directed the kick
in from the right side and Zidane was somehow unmarked when his head found
the ball from six yards out to drive it tot he left of Taffarel.
The French defense held Ronaldo in check and kept Brazil off the scoreboard (AP) | |
The
second goal also came off of a corner kick, this one from the left side of
the field. Zidane again was open when Youri Djorkaeff swerved the ball in
to a diving Zidane, who celebrated by pulling his shirt over his head as
the French fans at the Stade de France went wild. Petit scored the final
goal in the last moments of stoppage time right before the whistle. The
French team controlled play all game, while the favored Brazilians
struggled in their attempts to get close to goal and had few good shots.
Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who provided a bit of intrigue before the
match when he was inadvertently left out of the starting lineup given to
the press, was held in check by the tight-marking French defense. Even
more impressive than France's defensive effort was the host country's
willingness to push forward with much success against Brazil in the first
half. The French generated numerous opportunities with striker Stephane
Guivarc'h twice breaking free in the penalty area, only to be denied first
by defender Junior Baiano and then by Taffarel.
The French midfielder
controlled play for almost the entire first half, limiting Brazil's ability
to build momentum as it went forward.
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