Countdown to Italy versus France final

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Countdown to Italy versus France final
By MaltaMedia News
Jul 9, 2006, 16:52

The two European squads, Italy and France are a few hours away from meeting on Sunday in the final of the 2006 World Cup at Berlin hoping to lay claim to international soccer's biggest prize. Italy is trying to get hold of its fourth title, the last one being in 1982, while France, a more recent champion, is trying to win its second World Cup title in eight years.

France’s captain Zinedine Zidane is bidding to bring the curtain down on his glittering career by lifting the World Cup trophy for the second time in eight years. In fact, the 34-year-old France captain will retire from professional football after tonight's final against Italy as will 1998 World Cup winner Liliam Thuram.

On the other hand, Italy is hoping take revenge on France following their Euro 2000 final defeat. However, Italy will still be without one of their best defenders Alessandro Nesta who is injured.

France's way to the final include the elimination of pretournament favorite Brazil, as well as Spain and Portugal -- two teams with long unbeaten runs before they faced Les Bleus. Italy did beat Germany, but before that had an easier road with Australia and Ukraine.

However, according to Yahoo! Sports, it is not that the 1998 champions are favorites; Italy is the choice on most betting lines. It's a familiar place for the French, who were underdogs against the Spaniards and Brazilians, but played vastly better than both, Yahoo! Sports said.

On the other hand, BBC Sports put forward an interesting comment: “Could it be a lucky omen, though, that France are playing in white for the fourth game in a row and have won their last three matches?”. Italy is the designated home team and will turn out in their familiar blue kit.

Following a series of opening highlights at the finals, with matches such as Germany's 4-2 defeat of Costa Rica, Argentina's 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast and the 3-1 victory over Japan by Australia, the knock-out stages have produced some tepid affairs. The defensive approach of teams such as England, Ukraine and Switzerland led to uninspiring ties in the second round, while there were just six goals in four quarter-final ties - three of which were scored by Italy.

In a comment on BBC former Brazilian striker Pele, who helped Brazil to World Cup glory on three different occasions in 1958, 1962 and 1970, said that otherwise the quality of the matches has been good. "Of course, the second round in particular had games that weren't the best," said the former striker. "But generally the games have been of a very good quality and I have enjoyed it. Everyone wants to see a great final. That can be the mark of a quality tournament. And I think we can expect a super game."

The current World Cup 2006 top scorer is Germany’s Miroslav Klose who scored 5 goals during these finals.

Host country Germany took third place on Saturday beating Portugal 3-1 on two sensational goals by Bastian Schweinsteiger. He also set up the third, when his free kick was deflected in for an own-goal by Portugal's Armando Petit.

One can also see MaltaMedia's special feature: FIFA World Cup Germany: A Maltese Perspective.

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