Liveblog: France vs. Portugal
The World Cup final is set and it will feature France and Italy. France won a hard fought game against a Portugal team that gave them a game. Zidane scored the game winner on a penalty kick in the first half. You can read the play-by-play below and leave your thoughts on the match.
Final: France 1-0 Portugal
Full time It is all over in Munich! France has come away with the victory and has earned a trip to the final in Berlin where they will play Italy. Portugal put up a good fight but they were unable to crack through the French defense. Thanks for joining me today. We’ll be back for the third place game and the final.
92:54 Portugal corner all the players are in the box including the keeper Ricardo. Portugal gets another one. This is it for Portugal’s World Cup chances. It is cleared away.
91:55 Meira gets a bouncing ball but is unable to put it on target for Portugal. Time continues to tick away.
90:00 Four minutes of added time. Portugal will have to throw it all forward to get the equalizer.
89:34 Figo also still fighting in the closing minutes but the Portugal crowd sensing that this one might be the end of the line.
88:29 Zidane battling it out this late in the game. Zizou is craving a shot at lifting the World Cup trophy one more time.
86:31 Saha picks up a yellow. He will miss the World Cup final if France holds on. Silly play to make at this point in the game.
86:13 France starting to play keep away and doing a damn good job of it. This is looking like it will end up being a France and Italy World Cup final.
84:42 Saha in and Henry out. Henry did not feature much tonight but he did draw the penalty that led to the goal.
83:12 That was the first caution of the game for either team. Portugal pushing forward but the French defense is like the Maginot Line, only without the holes.
82:04 Saha coming in for France as they will use their third sub as well. Portugal has ten minutes to keep their dream alive. Carvahlo shown a yellow after a bad tackle on Wiltord.
80:48 Figo with a little chip into the box off a free kick and it is cleared away by France.
80:00 Portugal spending a lot of time on the ground in the box looking around for a call. Perhaps they would be better served looking for the ball in the air.
78:56 Watching Barthez make a play like that has to give some hope to Portugal fans. Coupet on the bench smirking.
76:49 Ronaldo awarded a free kick from far out. He is over the ball. France with a two person wall. He strikers it on goal and Barthez hits it like a volleyball to a Portugal head but the second effort goes over the bar. Dodgy keeping.
75:49 Valente with the cross in the box but two Portugal players are too busy falling down than to put the ball on goal.
74:39 Portugal makes its final sub with Costinha out and Postiga in. Scolari is hoping that some combination will lead to the equalizer.
73:10 Simao crosses it into the box but again there is no one there. Portugal beginning to show a little more initiative.
72:07 Govou on for Ribery as France shuffles the deck to try to close out the game.
71:21 Portugal corner kick is headed away to the other sideline. So far tonight Portugal’s attack has been Maniche with long shots and Ronaldo using his speed to break free.
70:28 Portugal has used two subs and France one. Portugal lacking space to really work when they attack. Coupet looking like Oliver Kahn on the French bench.
69:12 Simao comes in and stirs things up right away. Malouda off for France and Wiltord on.
67:22 Simao ready to come on for Portugal. Keep an eye on how tight his shirt is. He either needs to go on a diet or stop shopping in the kids section for clothes. Pauleta off after having another unspectacular World Cup game.
66:29 Pauleta kneeling on the turf looking to the ref for some divine intervention but Domenech gives the signal on the sideline that says Pauleta is an actor.
65:12 France starting to pack it in a bit as they know that a clean sheet will mean a ticket to Berlin on July 9.
64:12 Portugal attack just seems to be missing a key component or two up front. The midfield is creating some chances but there is no one there to put the biscuit in the basket. Or something like that.
62:02 Paulo Ferreira will come in for Miguel. Abidal gets smacked by the ball and is down holding his head. Second time tonight he has taken a knock to the noggin’.
60:12 You don’t need to no a word of French to realize when Domenech is unhappy. Miguel looks like he is done for the night. His leg is not feeling good. He has played hard this tournament.
58:32 Miguel with a pass to Pauleta who lays it off to Miguel, but wait, he is on the ground on the verge of death. No call from the ref who fails to recognize death as a legit call. Miguel limps off. Not sure how or what he injured.
57:03 Figo and the referee talking over the rules of throw ins. They appeared to have come to an agreement and play resumes. France with the better opportunities this half thus far.
55:12 Ribery breaks free on the wing and makes a long run that leads to a cross to Zidane but the captain is unable to locate a speeding Henry on the right. Quick counter from France.
54:32 Ronaldo has speed to spare. He earns a corner kick for Portugal. Figo takes it and France is able to clear it away momentarily.
52:44 Figo lays it off to Pauleta in the box and he turns on it. The ball hits the side of the netting. Finally something from Pauleta tonight.
52:24 Portugal not throwing everything forward yet as they still have time and France has done a nice job this half of controlling the tempo.
51:23 I am convinced that Ribery is the least athletic looking guy playing in this World Cup and he has been nothing short of great. He gives unathletic looking people everywhere hope.
49:54 Figo puts a high boot into the face of Abidal and as you can imagine that doesn’t feel too good.
49:35 It kind of sucks liveblogging games in which Zidane plays because I miss a lot of the subtle little touches that make him so special.
48:12 A France corner kick leads to more possession and Ribery blasts a shot that challenges Ricardo. Quality play from both men.
47:27 Figo and Thuram battle in the corner and it is the player from Portugal who is blown for the whistle. Portugal on the attack but start a bit sloppy. Henry gets a shot on goal at the other end.
45:56 Portugal will need to find an answer this half. They have gone more than 165 minutes without scoring.
45:13 France took their dear old time coming out from halftime. A bit of head games perhaps?
45:01 We’re back underway from Munich. France is 45 minutes away from appearing in their second World Cup final. Portugal will do their best to prevent that from happening. Thanks for joining me for the game. Your comments are appreciated, just keep them clean and get along like the nice people your parents taught you to be.
Halftime Stats Possession is dead even at 50%. Portugal leads 3-2 in shots on goal and 3-1 in corner kicks. Portugal has commited 10 fouls to France’s 6. Neither team has received a caution.
Halftime After 45 minutes of play France leads by a goal. Henry got a call in the box and Zidane delivered the penalty kick to put Les Blues ahead in a match that has been fairly even. I’m going to go try to find a German who isn’t depressed about last night. I’ll be back at the start of the second half. Your thoughts on the first half are appreciated.
44:45 France looking like they are happy with the lead and will have a grand old time heading to the locker room. Portugal looking in need of a 15 minute regroup.
43:37 Ronaldo showing off his speed and his capacity to shoot a ball into the crowd.
42:01 Figo chops down Zidane and they give the over 30 club handshake to one another. They’ll exchange retirement home information after the match instead of jerseys.
41:23 France’s Ribery might be the player who has most helped himself this World Cup. The guy has been great. Wouldn’t want to see him a dark alley but he has been impressive.
38:49 Ronaldo breaks through the France defense and hits a left footer over the bar. He gets a corner out of it and Barthez makes it more interesting than it needed to be.
37:46 Portugal being the more aggressive team after the France goal and has a couple of nice chances in the air off of crosses.
36:23 Ronaldo goes down in the box after a Figo cross and it is a no call. Portugal calling for a penalty kick but the ref will have none of it.
35:59 Maniche with another long shot that finds the target but the French keeper is able to control it. Maniche likes the long shot.
35:19 We will see how Portugal responds to being behind. They have not trailed in the World Cup up to this point.
34:10 France takes advantage of a tough call in the box and the ageless Zidane hits home the penalty. It is worth noting that Portugal did not protest the call very much even though they might have a case for being upset.
32:36 GOALLLL!!!!! Zidane takes the penalty kick and drills it in the left corner.
31:26 Henry taken down by Carvalho, kind of. He is awarded a penalty. Wow, tough call.
31:02 France cross in the box and Henry displays his juggling skills. Neither team able to crack through in the final third. We are still scoreless.
29:22 Ronaldo goes for a jump in the air after Abidal might have grazed him. Domenech on the sideline giving the international sign for diver down.
28:28 Henry breaks Miguel’s ankles with a cut back mood and he gets a soft shot on target. Neither keeper having to work much thus far tonight.
27:23 Zidane brought down on one end and doesn’t get a call. A Portugal player takes a fall and gets a call. Interesting.
25:58 Makelele having a talk with the referee after he is called for a love tap on Deco. I would talk to the ref too if I had the chance.
24:56 Crowd starting to make some noise in an effort to wake up the players, as well as you and I.
23:46 If anyone knows the wherabouts of Portugal striker Pauleta please let the team know. He has been missing since the opening match against Angola.
22:58 France attack breaking down with Abidal’s crosses. Ronaldo playing on both sides of the midfield just to bring joy or pain to you depending on your point of view.
21:30 Henry tries to get a shot but he should have laid it off to Ribery. Portugal keeping a lot of players near the area when France is in the offensive end.
20:02 Ronaldo getting a whistle with every touch but he is one of the few players on either side playing with pace
18:47 Game looking a bit choppy at the moment. These appear to be two very evenly matched teams. Portugal trying to attack on the outside more than Brazil did against France.
17:02 Figo gets off the stretcher and is not given a cane.
16:19 Miguel lays it over to Figo who takes a shot from outside the box and Bartez gets to it. Figo laying down after taking a bit of a whack. He gives the look of someone who has accumulated pain over the years.
14:48 First corner kick for Portugal is blown dead after a push in the box. Both teams look like they are intersted in playing an offensive game but not exactly sure how to do it.
13:37 Zidane with a nice touch to Ribery who sends it out wide to Abidal who then crosses it into the box and Henry just misses getting to it.
12:37 France a little too eager to try to connect with the long ball. I would tell them that if I were coaching but coaching sounds less fun than liveblogging.
11:16 France looking very well organized in the back as it is taking away for Portugal’s attack to build up. Henry now 10 minutes without being offside, might be a personal record this tournament
9:49 Figo with a cross into the middle and it is defended away by the fellow geriatic Thuram. First foul finally called as Henry hits the turf.
8:23 Maniche with a bomb of a shot after Ronaldo leaves the ball behind and it flies over the bar but not by much. That guy has a cannon of a leg.
6:49 Both sides playing a clean game without much stoppage. The pace isn’t as fast as last night but still a decent start for a semifinal. Zidane with a corner and it is cleared away.
5:25 First of what should be many crossover moves that aren’t necessary from Cristiano Ronaldo. No fouls from other team yet.
5:12 Shot of France coach Domenech looking like a professor on the sideline. His team pushes it forward but Ribery’s cross is wayward.
3:45 Deco gets off a good shot on the ground and Barthez has to stretch to save it. Good opportunity for the team wearing port red, whatever that means.
3:18 France with the early possession and Portugal trying to set up for the counter attack. France looking to be the more aggressive team at the moment.
1:48 Figo with a subtle but nifty turn in the middle. Ronaldo gets the ball for the first time and is greeted with a whistle parade from the crowd.
0:46 France pushes forward with a long ball to Malouda who hits it with his left foot wide of the goal. Early long ball from the French side.
Kickoff: We’re underway in Munich with Portugal and France squaring off to decide who will face Italy in the World Cup final on Sunday. I’m awfully glad that you have joined me for the match. Your comments are appreciated. Please keep them clean, have fun and love one another. We are in the final stretch of this month-long football festival so let’s enjoy it together.
3 Minute Countdown: It is time for France to sing about killing and all that other fun stuff. What a great anthem. Makes me want to start a Socialist Revolution. Zidane getting some serious air time and looking none too pleased about that fact.
5 Minute Countdown: The crowd is on its feet and we are treated to a stirring rendition of Portugal’s anthem. The players shouldn’t quit their day jobs to sing in a band.
8 Minute Countdown: The captains Figo and Zindane lead their respective teams out onto the pitch. The crowd is largely French. Today’s referee is from Uruguay and he might be remembered by those with a rooting interest during the USA-Italy match.
10 Minute Countdown: The two teams are lined up in the tunnel. France is wearing their away white shirts, white shorts, and white socks. Portugal is clad in port red shirts, port red shorts, and port red socks. The World Cup Blog crew drank some port last night but in the interest of neutrality I have chosen a nice German pilsner to accompany me through the next 90-120 minutes of finger torture. For those reading this at work, feel free to sneak a bottle from your desk drawer. I asked your boss and she gives you permission.
15 Minute Countdown: Cristiano Ronaldo shown warming up. He wins the award for most polarizing World Cup player, at least on World Cup Blog. There was some question about his fitness coming into the match but he is in the starting lineup and ready to go.
20 Minute Countdown: The German television commentators seem a little glum today. I wonder why. But the show must go and one of these teams will go on to play Germany in the Third Place Game. The pregame coverage is focusing a lot on Big Phil. He will not be lacing them up tonight, but he should be good for a great facial expression or three on the sideline.
25 Minute Countdown: You probably have heard by now that this game features two of the game’s great players, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane. While this will be their final World Cup, we also can’t forget France keeper Fabien Barthez. The walking time bomb will most likely not be around in 2010 so this is his World Cup adieu too. So far he has not been tested too much with only 8 saves to his credit. His counterpart for Portugal, Ricardo, has made 20 saves and was a hero in the penalty shoot out against England in the quarterfinals.
30 Minute Countdown: Portugal’s Armando Petit is suspended for this one for being a naughty boy who collects yellow cards. Deco and Costinha have overcome their naughtiness to return to Portugal’s team. No players are hurt for either side. Both teams have five players that are each carrying a yellow card so they will be living on the edge if they punch their ticket to the final in Berlin. Here are the starting lineups. Don’t blame me. I wasn’t consulted when they were selected.
France
16. Fabien Barthez, 3. Eric Abidal, 4. Patrick Vieira, 5. William Gallas, 6. Claude Makelele, 7. Florent Malouda, 10. Zinedine Zidane, 12. Thierry Henry, 15. Lilian Thuram, 19. Willy Sagnol, 22. Franck Ribery
Portugal
1. Ricardo, 5. Fernando Meira, 6. Costinha, 7. Luis Figo, 9. Pauleta, 13. Miguel, 14. Nuno Valente, 16. Ricardo Carvalho, 17. Cristiano Ronaldo, 18. Maniche, 20. Deco
40 Minute Countdown: It has been another steamy day here in Germany but things should cool down by kickoff in Munich. Current temperature is 27C/81F. Portugal enters tonight’s match having yielded just one goal in its first five World Cup games. France has been almost as stingy, giving up two goals overall. The French defense played great against Brazil in the quarterfinals but will get a different test from a Portugal side that has said it will attack more on the flanks than Brazil did. I plan on attacking the keyboard tonight on the liveblog. I’ve lost count of how many games I have done but it is somewhere near 30. I still can’t type fast or spell but why should that stop me? Starting lineups coming up quicker than you can say “supercalafragalistickexpialidocious”.
50 Minute Countdown: We’ve all had a full day to recover from the thriller semifinal last night and now the attention shifts to Portugal against France. This is France’s fifth appearance in the World Cup semifinals. They have lost 3 of their 4 semifinal matches, but some of the current crop of players were around in ‘98 when they won the whole shebang. Portugal makes its second World Cup semifinal appearance tonight, the first since losing to England in 1966. Not a whole lot of people predicted that both these teams would be around at this point in the competition, but that doesn’t mean this won’t turn out to be another exciting game. Starting lineups and other stuff coming up in a Berlin minute.
Pregame: Who do you think will win?
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Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 661 comments.
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By LOKi01 | July 6th, 2006 at 9:53 am 
zieie,
Because he is a ‘me’ player and not a team player.
And he is a diver.
A ‘me’ player isn’t as bad as a diver, something he doesn’t have to do because he is a very talented player and can be a great player. But no matter what he does on the pitch all he is remember for is all the ‘catty’ things he does.
Hopefully he can grow out of it as he gets older.
Posted from 
Australia
By Freddy | July 6th, 2006 at 9:58 am I really dislike games where dives that results in penalties/free-kicks and worse of a, a goal.
I think players should be penalized heavily for faking. They are playing for their country and not for themselves alone. But again, it is not easy to discern from the camera alone or even on the fields (as most cameras show how referees can be fooled).
Furthermore, I think bad tempered and self-centered players like Rooney, Ronaldo, etc. should be benched for good! Congrats to the referee for making the right decision to give Rooney the red card!
Posted from 
France
By Wily Scolari Stalks “France” - Features - 2010 World Cup, Features, France - South Africa Logue | July 6th, 2006 at 10:04 am [...] LiveBlog: France vs. Portugal [...]
Posted from 
United States
By CTL | July 6th, 2006 at 10:29 am Henry did not “dive”. He was tackled, and he went down in the box. That means a penalty, its as simple as that.
To dive means to go down in a heap without any contact or minimal contact. The referee is the one to decide how much that contact was.
For any striker worth his salt, the intention is to gain as much advantage as possible within fair means. Henry did just that, but only by a whisker.
So sorry Carvalho - you win some, you lose some.
Posted from 
Singapore
By CTL | July 6th, 2006 at 10:31 am Henry did not “simulate”. He was tackled, and he went down in the box legitimately. That means a penalty, its as simple as that.
To “simulate” means to go down in a heap without any contact or minimal contact. The referee is the one to decide how much that contact was.
For any striker worth his salt, the intention is to gain as much advantage as possible within fair means. Henry did just that, but only by a whisker.
So sorry Carvalho - you win some, you lose some.
Posted from Singapore
By LiverpoolFC | July 6th, 2006 at 10:34 am I’m glad Henry dived against Portugal, no wonder there wasn’t many complaints from the Portuguese players 
to be fair though there was a slight touch on Henry and good on him, he’s taking on FIFA now, his defence would be I used to be a clean player, i didn’t get penalty’s awarded, i’ve seen how Italy got thru to the final so I shall do the same for my country. Fair enough until FIFA suspend teams such as Italy who blatantly dive and make a mockery of the whole system. Good on ya Henry go the FRENCH!!!
Posted from Australia
By Toast | July 6th, 2006 at 11:02 am First things first: Congratulations to France.
Did Henry dive? Yes. Was it a penalty? Yes.
Henry embellished it. I don´t think the Ref went for the embellishment, because there was no yellow for RCarvalho.
Portugal were the better team yesterday, but the French defense played well. We will go for third place now, and we have lot´s of young talent. I was expecting WC´06, but i´m young - I´ll settle for Euro´08 AND WC´10 
Good luck in the final for both teams. Portugal - Germany, with less tension on the players should be a better game to watch though
Posted from 
Portugal
By jaclyn | July 6th, 2006 at 2:50 pm LiverpoolFC. i dont understand why you are talking about italy making a fool of the entire system? it was as much neills fault for falling when it wasnt necessary that the foul was called in the australia-italy game as it was grosso trying to sell a call. he was in the way of the forward trying to move on goal. and from the refs angle it looked like neill grabbed grossos legs. of course that was a foul. maybe im biased because im an italy fan but the way i see it, australia didnt know what they were doing. it was tactically stupid to fall and it was stupid to kick the ball around midfield waiting for the italian defenders to get back in position when you are a man up. maybe im wrong, but the way i see it, italy didnt do anything to make them ” diving cheats ” or whatever you want to call them.
and the ref in the germany-italy game was fair and italy still won. so its not like they only win when they dive.
kthx
Posted from United States
By SSENKANDWA TOM | July 6th, 2006 at 3:41 pm I,for one thing france deserved da penalty kick.Coz it was obivious dat Cavarloh fouled Henry iam sure even amad man can testify dat.So with am against does who urgue dat da refee was just bias 2 Portugal dats being weird.TOM.
By Rain | July 6th, 2006 at 4:20 pm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLBJxermIso&search=portugal%20france%202006
After viewing the front replay… what a dive… :S
Posted from Portugal
By Vitor Reis | July 6th, 2006 at 5:06 pm Hello, first of all congratulations to Portugal,
the portuguese made a great
championship , and lose with
honour, to france i say this:
yesterday , all of the world
see the football played by the
french. they need penaltys
to win Portugal in two semi
Euro and now World Cup, they suck.
The Portuguese Selection will
continue to strruggle until the
end. Força Portugal
( obrigado Cristiano, Ricardo Figo e Miguel, foram vocês , para mim o elo mais forte desta
nação que se vai ainda revelar
a melhor da Europa
Posted from Portugal
By mojo_lo | July 6th, 2006 at 10:03 pm i originally thought the ref was justified in calling a penalty b/c Carvalho did clip Henry (slightly). Looking more carefully, I think that Henry had no chance to get that ball. His touch was a little too hard so that it was too far out of his range to recover. Henry realized this and thus decided to dive. Bad Call.
Posted from United States
By Suzy | July 7th, 2006 at 4:44 am I’ve been reading all these comments that people have left and i can’t believe what rubbish i’ve read. The french player Henery is a sick, dishonest and disgusting excuse of a football player. Ricardo Carvalho slipped and fell and did not intentionally trip him…he saw the oppurtunity and decided that he’d be a dirty pig and DIVE…A VERY FAKE DIVE. The ref was crap 2…anyone could see that it wasn’t a penalty and the falt made on Cristiano Ronaldo some time after DESERVED a penalty 100% more than Henery. Time and time again Portugal is robbed…they are the team in the world that play the most beautiful football….they produce the best players and by now should have more than a dozen titles won. I’m surprised that they even came this far, i would have thought that they would have been robbed sooner. FIFA should tell teams that they don’t want them in the world cup instead of robbing them when they are one step away from taking out the cup.
All you people that have said bad things about Portugal, things you know nothing about you should shut your dirty mouths and concentrate on your teams that didn’t get as far as portugal, not because they were robbed like Portugal BUT BECAUSE THEY SUCK AND DON’T KNOW HOW 2 PLAY FOOTBALL. As for the French Coach and players they 2 should shut their mouths because it is not nice before a game to bad mouth the other team and the coach (like they did about portugal)and concentrate on themselves. If one day…and i hope soon…FIFA recrutes someone that picks good refs and does not favour countries then the talented portugal will win…because that is what they deserve, and they have been deserving this for a LONG LONG time.
as for the person Masano Karim that wrote a blog entry above…remember this
1. Portugal may have only been in the world cup 4 times but in 1966 against England they were robbed a penalty just like today….and that is why victory against England is SO SO SO SWEET.
Plus you said that Portugal is not a power house but they were in the final in the Euro 2004.
2.You also said that the portuguese players threw water bottles on the field in rage: well obviously they were going to…they were robbed of entering the final of the biggest soccer tornament…i wouldn’t b surprised if they threw the bottle at the ref, or several bottles for that matter.
3. You said that history wasn’t on their side…well history wasn’t on the Australian side and they still made a FANTASTIC world cup campaign.
4. For your information Portugal has way more talented players than france including
* Cristiano Ronaldo
* Deco
* Figo
* Maniche
* Pauletta
* Ricardo (the Goal Keeper)
* Ricardo Carvalho
* Nuno Valente
* Nuno Gomes
* Simao Saborossa
* Luis Boa Morte
* Tiago
* Petit
* Fernando Meira
* Helder Postiga
* Paulo Ferreira
* Hugo Viana
AND MANY MANY OTHERS
and the portuguese definately don’t practise dives in their training sessions like the french and the italians.
5. Maybe by the way that you took the french side when they were the bad guys…you could be french but your comment comes from America. And let me remind you that during the time America played they were never ever robbed…the refs did clean games…. I GUESS THEY JUST SUCK AND CAN’T PLAY FOOTBALL FOR SHIT. Maybe thats why you feel the need to target other teams when yours just sucks.
Next Euro and World Cup justice will be done and Portugal will dominate.
I LOVE PORTUGAL and well done to the players and fans who supported them.
AND shame on the people that put Portugal down. I’ve been reading all these comments that people have left and i can’t believe what rubbish i’ve read. The french player Henery is a sick, dishonest and disgusting excuse of a football player. Ricardo Carvalho slipped and fell and did not intentionally trip him…he saw the oppurtunity and decided that he’d be a dirty pig and DIVE…A VERY FAKE DIVE. The ref was crap 2…anyone could see that it wasn’t a penalty and the falt made on Cristiano Ronaldo some time after DESERVED a penalty 100% more than Henery. Time and time again Portugal is robbed…they are the team in the world that play the most beautiful football….they produce the best players and by now should have more than a dozen titles won. I’m surprised that they even came this far, i would have thought that they would have been robbed sooner. FIFA should tell teams that they don’t want them in the world cup instead of robbing them when they are one step away from taking out the cup.
All you people that have said bad things about Portugal, things you know nothing about you should shut your dirty mouths and concentrate on your teams that didn’t get as far as portugal, not because they were robbed like Portugal BUT BECAUSE THEY SUCK AND DON’T KNOW HOW 2 PLAY FOOTBALL. As for the French Coach and players they 2 should shut their mouths because it is not nice before a game to bad mouth the other team and the coach (like they did about portugal)and concentrate on themselves. If one day…and i hope soon…FIFA recrutes someone that picks good refs and does not favour countries then the talented portugal will win…because that is what they deserve, and they have been deserving this for a LONG LONG time.
as for the person Masano Karim that wrote a blog entry above…remember this
1. Portugal may have only been in the world cup 4 times but in 1966 against England they were robbed a penalty just like today….and that is why victory against England is SO SO SO SWEET.
Plus you said that Portugal is not a power house but they were in the final in the Euro 2004.
2.You also said that the portuguese players threw water bottles on the field in rage: well obviously they were going to…they were robbed of entering the final of the biggest soccer tornament…i wouldn’t b surprised if they threw the bottle at the ref, or several bottles for that matter.
3. You said that history wasn’t on their side…well history wasn’t on the Australian side and they still made a FANTASTIC world cup campaign.
4. For your information Portugal has way more talented players than france including
* Cristiano Ronaldo
* Deco
* Figo
* Maniche
* Pauletta
* Ricardo (the Goal Keeper)
* Ricardo Carvalho
* Nuno Valente
* Nuno Gomes
* Simao Saborossa
* Luis Boa Morte
* Tiago
* Petit
* Fernando Meira
* Helder Postiga
* Paulo Ferreira
* Hugo Viana
AND MANY MANY OTHERS
and the portuguese definately don’t practise dives in their training sessions like the french and the italians.
5. Maybe by the way that you took the french side when they were the bad guys…you could be french but your comment comes from America. And let me remind you that during the time America played they were never ever robbed…the refs did clean games…. I GUESS THEY JUST SUCK AND CAN’T PLAY FOOTBALL FOR SHIT. Maybe thats why you feel the need to target other teams when yours just sucks.
Next Euro and World Cup justice will be done and Portugal will dominate.
I LOVE PORTUGAL and well done to the players and fans.
Posted from Australia
By wEND | July 7th, 2006 at 5:08 am :
Posted from Australia
By SA Logue’s Starting World Cup Eleven, Plus Substitutes - Travel Tips - 2010 World Cup, Ballack, Buffon - South Africa Logue | July 7th, 2006 at 11:15 am [...] LiveBlog: France vs. Portugal Tags: 2010 World Cup, Ballack, Buffon, Cannavaro, Essien, Features, Gallas, Gerrard, Henry, Klose, Lahm, Lippi, Maxi Rodriguez, Ricardo, Riquelme, Ronaldo, Scolari, South Africa, Terry, Torres, Viera, World Cup, Zidane Home » Travel Tips, Features, 2010 World Cup « Knysna Oyster Festival on the Go | Home | Trekker’s Hostel Highlights: a Fond Farewell to Wildside Backpackers, Knysna » If you found “SA Logue’s Starting World Cup Eleven, Plus Substitutes” useful or interesting, please share it with others by bookmarking it at any of the following sites: .wp-notable_image {border: none;margin-left:5px;} Comments Robin | July 5th, 2006 at 2:13 am [...]
Posted from United States
By Neil | July 7th, 2006 at 12:55 pm Suzy - I’m not sure I follow your piece. Who’s your favorite team?
Really, such an unbiased, one-sided diatribe is worthless. What’s worse is when a writer uses CAPITAL LETTERS to accentuate points. It’s as if you are trying to convince yourself that the rubbish you are writing is actually true.
Fine, you LOVE Portugal - but that does not mean anything about a) their talent or b) their proclivity for “gamesmanship” and diving. Other than Italy, no team exploited the dive more in World Cup 2006 than your beloved Portuguese. Luis Figo showed flashes of the player he once was, but every time he was dispossessed, he fell and looked to the referee’s assistant for a call - as though it were impossible that he could have been stripped, plain and simple. In the second half against France, a ball bounced near the far touchline, head-high between Abidal and Figo. Abidal used his head. Figo used his boot - and hit Abidal. Not intentional, just high. He was whistled - and then proceeded to complain about the call. Please. He’s been playing too long not to know.
Ask yourself: would Zidane or even classic fakers from Brazil argue such a call? Not a chance.
Later in the half, Figo sends a bender into the box. Both “C-Ro” and another Portugal middie jump to head the ball. Both miss. Ronaldo falls to a heap, having not made contact with another player.
He cannot believe he was not awarded a PK.
Please counsel yourself. Love Portugal as fervently as you do - but be honest and objective enough to realize that, aside from Italy, they are an exploitive team of divers and fakers - which is too bad because it spoils from the quality they shows on the field.
I see you did not mention “Big Phil’s” physical attack on the (albeit hideous) Uruguayan referee after the game.
That shows class, huh?
Posted from United States
By tony | July 7th, 2006 at 5:09 pm neils reply to suzy sounds spot on, i didnt read all of her rant though as so many of ronaldo and portugals male and female, but mostly female fans babble on about how great they play and no way do they ever cheat, that its hardly worth reading the lunacy, im sure that was the gist of her posting, im not out to offend, but the site has some great feedback and interesting commentary, cheerleeding is not worth you posting(suzy et al) and us reading.
By Jim Houghton | July 8th, 2006 at 8:47 pm Have you guy heard that Mike LoPresti of USA today is a child molester?
Posted from United States
By Bruno | July 9th, 2006 at 9:03 pm Just a few words to say! france, doesn’t realy deserve to be in the finnals, doesn’t deserve to win the cup, they have no team, no qualities, they have wining with a huge help of the referees, and that, is not fair for other teams! Italy, beware for those unprofessionals, they might bought the match referee again!
By Bruno | July 9th, 2006 at 10:45 pm Go home you french pigs, where you should be for a long time!!! it seems the referee wasn’t in your side this time! and about zidane, he showed the real prfessionalism of france!!! ITALY ITALY!!!
By nuno fafe | July 10th, 2006 at 5:31 am now, after justice has been done, france has lost with italy, and zidane show to the world that he is a fair player when he assault the other player.french people are this way, when the refery is not helping, they try to destroy things. well pigs, u have lost.go home.loosing the final is so much painfull.i hope u have bad dreams for a long time.this time zidane doesn t made any miracles. u still want him for president?dont think so.i am portuguese, and we deserve to lost with germany, because we played poorly. But with france??this kind of games are games to score 1 or 2 goals. the game is very tactical at the semifinals, and when a penalty is invented, and next france go all to the defense, is very difficult to win even playing much much better.scolari sould put away pauleta a long time a go and use nuno gomes.in 5 minutes scored a goal, i knew he will.but mits are mits, and next time pauleta, please play better.you know, being the best striker at france isnt very difficult. and why didnt figo played from the beggining against germany.scolari, a yellow card to u.we have great players, but deco this time was very far from his best and ronaldo seemed imature.my pain has gone at some time.and you frenchies, your pain is much vivid.i am enjoying to know that millions of frenchies are suffering right now.next time we play, you are dead.we could lose with everybody, but with you, never again.hope the plain with the team fall in the champs elisés
Posted from Portugal
By nuno fafe | July 10th, 2006 at 5:38 am e bibá nossa selecção, não vai tardar muito a concretizar todos os nossos sonhos.os portugueses têm orgulho em vocês. Putos que agora sois esperanças, pusei-vos finos, o futuro passa pelas vossas pernas.deixaide-vos de merdas como este ano, se assim for nunca mais teremos equipas de jeito.ja ha muitos anos que desliguei do futebol que só me fazia sofrer.este ano voltei a vibrar e a reviver a alegria do futebol. a próxima vez desligo de vez.como eu há muitos.em espanha os estádios estão cheios não é por gostarem mais de futebol que nós, é por terem mais dinheiro. viva o benfica
Posted from Portugal
By nuno fafe | July 10th, 2006 at 5:53 am é nestas alturas que a gente tem pena que a gestapo não tenha arrumado com mais franceses.maldita a hora que se safaram alguns
Posted from Portugal
By Maurizio Cascapera | July 10th, 2006 at 6:03 pm The French coach can best be described as a plastic puppet with s.. for brains. Zidane is a loser pig who can’t take the pressure… Take this: YOU LOST AND DEAL WITH IT, although hard for both of them, try to do it like a man.
By Nick | October 5th, 2006 at 12:07 pm Everyone defending Italy or Portugal I have a couple of words for you “go f##k yourselves you hopeless cheating bast*rds, learn how to play football the way it should be played, not the c. ronaldo diving way. visit http://www.ihateronaldo.com”
And all of you saying Zidane is a pig and sh*t like that, well out of materazzi and Zidane, materazzi is the biggest most f?#ked up cheating rotting bast*rd pig. Should provoking players be allowed in football “NO” well materazzi did just that. What would you do if someone called your sister and mum a prostitute and you a terrorist “head butt them!” probably not but you wouldnt just walk away, you would do something about it. France deserved to win the World Cup Final and Australia deserved to win against italy. One last question if there is a football player lying in the middle of the field and doesnt move and the opponent runs and trips over him, is that a foul “NO!”
well italy did not deserve a penalty or the win and Australia would’ve won 2 - 0. italy hould have been out of the world cup long before the finals. italy vs portugal would not be a football match it would be a match of ballat dancers and divers and foul mouthed f*gs, all the players will be lying on the floor pretending to be hurt. And if you haven’t notice that when i write Zidane or France Or Australia I use a capital letter but when i write materazzi or italy or portugal or c. ronaldo i use little letters coz they they are so rubbish that they dont deserve the effort of pressing shift.
Posted from 
The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia
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