PORTUGAL 0 FRANCE 1 - MATCH REPORT
Report by Pez

It was France who earned the right to play Italy in the final of the 2006 World Cup, but they were ran close by a Portugal side who were ultimately toothless.

There was an early opportunity for France winger Florent Malouda, latching on to a long ball from the back but his finished was scuffed over the goal mouth and out for a goal kick. Deco then tested the often unreliable hands of Fabien Barthez, and the 'keeper seemed stranded when Maniche cracked an effort from thirty yards which went just over the crossbar.

A neat move down France left almost created a goal, Eric Abidal's wicked low cross went right across the six yard box, but the lurking Thierry Henry seemed to lose his footing before attacking it. With Portugal restricted to long-range efforts, Luis Figo had a pop, but got no joy, and it was France who made the breakthrough.

Henry received a pass in the area, and his quick turn caught Ricardo Carvalho off guard. His attempted tackle only caught Henry's trailing leg, and when he went down the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Zinedine Zidane stepped up against penalty hero Ricardo, but his penalty was to good as it nestled centimetres away from the 'keepers hand.

Cristiano Ronaldo, booed all evening for his antics against England, was Portugal's main threat throughout the evening, but he soon returned to his diving as he looked for a penalty in the box. His appeals were turned away. The same man then had a strike deflected over the bar, as Portugal began to look more threatening.

After half time, Henry and France could have doubled their advantage, the Arsenal striker was isolated in the area, and he eased away from one defender with his pace before shooting from a tight angle. The ball almost squeezed in, having hit the underside of Ricardo's body, but it trickled over the line for a corner.

Pauleta, for so long anonymous, made himself an opening, turning in the area and hitting the ball between two defenders, but he only found the side netting, the nearest Portugal had come to scoring.

Portugal again reverted to playing with no strikers for a while, but they got no closer, so Helder Postiga was introduced. Ronaldo then curled a free-kick in at Barthez, and the 'keeper showed us why Portugal had been so eager to shoot at him, his attempt to save the ball, which was straight at him, went right up in the air, and the Figo's header was an escape for France as it went over the bar to safety.

With Portugal playing with so many midfielders, and being reluctant to do anything but try and pass the ball in the net or shoot from thirty yards, Barthez was otherwise never troubled. 'keeper Ricardo went up for a last minute corner, and his hooked pass forced another corner, but Portugal failed to score again in normal time, and were deservedly beaten by France.

Referee: Jorge Larrionda
Venue: Allianz Arena
Attendance: 66,000

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