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Brazil 1 Croatia 0, 13/6/06
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Brazil 0 France 1, 01/7/06
Read the postcards from the qualification games
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BRAZIL 0 FRANCE 1 27/6/06
By Chris Marks
First Half
After three quarter-finals of nervous displays full of fear and tension, most neutral fans were hoping that a repeat of the 1998 final would bring some much-needed quality to the latter stages of the tournament. And with Ronaldinho, Kaká, Zidane and Henry on the pitch, quality was very much to the fore amongst the two line-ups. France maintained the same team that had done so well to recover from a goal down and beat Spain in the second round. Parreira made two changes: the injured Émerson was replaced by Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva, and further forward, Adriano was surprisingly dropped to the benefit of French Footballer of the Year Juninho Pernambucano.
With these selections, it was clear that both teams were using similar 4-2-3-1 formations. The match itself, held in a sweaty Frankfurt, started at an electric pace, far quicker than the Brazilians were comfortable with, as several early misplaced passes showed. Yet the champions adapted well and started the better of the two teams. After two minutes, a promising move was ended by a foul on Ronaldinho by Frank Ribery, giving an early opportunity for Roberto Carlos, Juninho and Ronaldinho to argue over who took the resulting free kick. Juninho won the argument, but his effort was deflected over.
Set-pieces were a feature of the opening salvoes. On ten minutes, a Ronaldinho free-kick, deep from the right flank, found Ronaldo on the back post, but the improving number nine headed over. The furious tempo continued with a high number of aggressive tackles from both teams. In this respect, the more muscular duo of Vieira and Makelele began to win some telling possession for the French, and Zidane was looking menacing in a deeper role, twice nearly sending Henry through in the first quarter.
The French won a series of free-kicks and corners, to which the Brazilians responded well, with solid defending. Dida punched away a Zidane corner which Ribery drove over from 25 yards, but that was all the Europeans could muster for 30 minutes. As the French began to gain the upper hand, Cafu was booked for pulling Abidal’s shirt, before another Zidane free-kick was headed over by Malouda. Brazil’s only other real moment of promise came after 28 minutes, as Ronaldinho and Ronaldo were finally able to combine, the former’s flick setting up the latter, but the Real Madrid striker’s shot was blocked almost as it left his foot.
As a frenetic half wore on to its conclusion, France started to press Brazil hard. Right on half-time, Vieira was sent through a large hole in the centre of the champions’ defence. Juan scythed down the Juventus man, and was lucky to escape with a booking. Henry’s effort from the set-piece was blocked by the wall, in which Ronaldo was rather unfortunate to be booked for handball. This time Zidane’s free-kick came to nothing.
So as the whistle blew for the interval, it was apparent that there had been a lot of effort from both sides, but the desperately-needed quality was still missing. Brazil’s creative trio in midfield had hardly touched the ball, and in the battle of the two number tens, the old master Zidane was definitely having the upper hand.
Second Half
Right from the start of the second half, it was clear it was going to be more of the same in this fixture. Zidane’s first free-kick of the second half was headed wide by Vieira with Henry lurking. Brazil were really struggling with France’s physical approach, and were unable to get a grip on the midfield to do anything about it. They should have heeded the warning given on 52 minutes when Malouda’s free-kick found Henry unmarked in the middle. The Arsenal striker scored, but was ruled offside.
Yet the Brazilian rearguard seemed incapable of marking key players in the area. The Old Master, Zizou’s next effort found Henry unmarked on the back post and this time he was onside. The striker volleyed confidently past Dida to put the reigning champions in real trouble. Four minutes after going ahead, Ribery managed to turn Lúcio by the corner flag, and his cross was nearly turned into his own net by a Brazilian foot.
Parreira responded by replacing Juninho with Adriano. The experiment with a five-man midfield had not worked, and now was the time to revert to the favoured 4-2-2-2 set-up. Even as the Brazilians pushed further and further forward, the French looked increasingly dangerous on the break. On 69, Henry drew Juan out wide onto the right, leaving Ribery unmarked in the middle. Henry’s ball was perfectly weighted, and Dida had to dash off his line to deny the Marseille winger.
Brazil became more desperate. Kaká managed to get Sagnol booked for bodychecking him as the Milan man surged past, but these were rare occasions when the Franch back four looked under pressure. Cicinho replaced Cafu to give more penetration and pace on the right as the great World Cup career of Brazil’s captain came to a close. Parreira’s final substitution came five minutes later, when Kaká was taken off to be replaced by Real Madrid’s livewire Robinho.
Robinho was quickly into the action as he snatched a shot wide with ten minutes left after Ronaldinho headed down. Ronaldo began to wake up as Brazil’s need increased, first shooting wide left-footed, then drawing a save from Barthez with his favoured right in the dying seconds. Ronaldinho’s chance to save his country and stake his claim as the world’s best number ten came after Thuram tripped Ronaldo as he burst through.
Sadly for the Barcelona man, it was to be Zidane’s day as Ronnie’s free-kick drifted over. In truth Brazil never deserved anything after a generally insipid performance, and as the final whistle blew Parreira will have been asking himself many questions. Should Brazil have gone to a major tournament at the end of a long European season with 36-year-old Cafu and Roberto Carlos, just three years his junior? What happened to Ronaldinho, generally accepted to be the world’s finest footballer, but ending the World Cup with no goals and five bland performances?
And what is Brazil’s plan B, when their creative midfielders are marked out of the game? In the past Brazil had the likes of Gérson, Falcão or Sócrates to create and keep things ticking over in midfield. Nowadays, the hard-working Émerson and Gilberto Silva lack inventiveness, and the neat and tidy Zé Roberto rarely looked like creating much. These are questions to be answered by the Brazilian manager, but whether Parreira will continue after this disappointing exit remains to be seen.
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