The old guard for France came through, Zizou and Viera, Makele and Thuram, and Barthez. Zidane was absolutely on top of his game. Brilliant touch. The goal scored was vintage Zizou, holding back, letting every else make their move, Puyol and Casillas and firing the ball across Casillas.
In Franck Ribery, I think France has its next superstar.
Spain did not play badly and Joaquin brought a lot of energy on the left flank but they did not play 90 minutes of soccer, they faded in and out.
After a long time we saw good refeering, not perfect, but good. Yellow cards to a minimum. And on top of fouls except maybe the Puyol foul that Thierry Henry sold which led to Zizou’s free kick, and the Viera goal.
Zinedine Zidane: 1 goal, 1 assist
Patrick Viera: 1 goal, 1 assist.
The two stalwarts put together the game of their lives. It’s taken a long time but France can call themselves a contender. They will have to go past Brazil.
For Spain, the question continues, their performance never matches the depth of talent they have. But it is a young team and they will be back for the 2010 WC, with most of this squad. Maybe not Luis Aragones.