Germany had drawn praise for their attacking style, for their now-popular coach Jürgen Klinsmann, and for star forward Miroslav Klose’s goals. But after a scoreless regular time and well into the second half of overtime, Italy scored a goal off of a few sharp passes in the penalty area, then gained another point from their feared counterattack right after to finish the game off 2-0.
Italy is a highly-skilled team that was every bit a match for the very strong German side. They will probably enter the final game as the favorites, given their impressive win and strong performance throughout the World Cup. The other team in the final won a close and difficult match against Portugal that saw a fearsome corner kick very near the end as Portugal tried relentlessly for the equalizer, even seeing their goalie make a feed toward the goal from probably only 35 yards out. But Portugal could never overcome the one goal scored by Zinédine Zidane on a penalty kick in the first half. France has seen an amazing performance from their captain in terms of skills and leadership. Portugal did not create enough chances against France but they had had an impressive run, advancing to the semifinals after a hotly argued game against England in the previous round. England striker Wayne Rooney and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo were at odds early in the second half, culminating in a kick toward the groin from Rooney and a slow-developing red card from the referee. As the English search for villains, they have pointed a lot of fingers in many directions, including Rooney, departing coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, and David Beckham, who has announced that he is stepping down as England’s team captain.
[photos: German fans by AFP; Zinédine Zidane by AP]