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Hello neighbor
France, Italy battle in quarterfinals
Posted: Thursday July 02, 1998 04:17 PM
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Alessandro Del Piero (left) and Roberto Baggio (right) are getting ready for the next match against France on Friday (AP) |
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) -- A
battle of neighboring soccer giants, a showdown between a French star and
an Italian scoring machine, a "magic moment" no player wants to miss.
France vs. Italy in the
World Cup quarterfinals is perhaps the most intriguing match in the
tournament so far, with the winner just two victories away from taking home
soccer's most coveted trophy.
While the French will have most of the 80,000 fans behind them Friday at
the Stade de France just outside Paris, the Italians have been through this
kind of pressure many times.
France hasn't even been in the World Cup since 1986; the Italians have
won the title three times and were in the final in '94, losing to Brazil.
The match features Italy's top scorer Christian Vieri and France's star
playmaker Zinedine Zidane.
Fresh from a two-game suspension for kicking a Saudi
Arabian player, Zidane is ready to challenge the Italians with his
darting runs and defense-splitting passes.
"We must control Zidane," Italian coach Cesare Maldini said.
Most likely Dino Baggio or Gianluca Pessotto will try to mark Zidane as
close as his shadow in the afternoon sun.
France could have another problem: Top striker Thierry Henry, who has
three goals, hurt his ankle in the last game. A decision on whether he'll
play will be made just before kickoff.
Vieri, who's tied for the lead in the Cup with five goals, will not get
individual attention -- he'll have the whole French defense to contend
with.
In four matches the French defenders, led by Marcel Desailly and Laurent
Blanc, have conceded just one goal -- on a penalty kick.
"We've played against Ronaldo. We've played against many of the greatest.
They don't get special treatment," Blanc said.
Sharing the leadership of the offense with Vieri will be Alessandro del
Piero, the playmaker who is desperately trying to make his mark on the
World Cup.
In the teams' last meeting in a Cup, France won 2-0 in the second round
in 1986. The French made it to the semifinals that year but lost to Germany.
Overall, Friday's game will be the 31st between the teams, with Italy
leading: 17 wins, seven draws and six losses.
The winner this time earns a place in next week's semifinal at Stade de
France against the Germany-Croatia winner.
The losers go home.
"I am convinced we can get through," Vieri said. "I want to take
advantage of this magic moment."
But he also hinted the Italians may not as formidable as in the past. "It
would be no shame losing against France."
Perhaps that's because many of the French players have been schooled in
Italy.
Over the past decade, French talent has flocked to the fortunes of the
Italian league. More than half of the French players have played or are
still playing in Italy.
"I have learned how to win," said Zidane, who plays for Juventus Turin.
"Italy has changed me."
Captain Didier Deschamps also plays for Juventus Turin, Desailly is at
end of a long stint with AC Milan and Youri Djorkaeff will clash with his
Inter Milan teammate Giuseppe Bergomi.
"The French playing in Italy have that fighting spirit," said French
midfielder Alain Boghossian, who will play for Parma next season. "There is
no way we can lose to Italy."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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