|
France, Croatia battle for first final
Host nation, debutant each seeking chance for title
Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 09:51 AM
| |
French midfielder Zinedine Zidane hopes to lead France to its first berth in the finals (AP) |
ST. DENIS, France (AP) --
France has been trying in vain since 1930 to get to the World Cup final.
Debutant Croatia hasn't
yet experienced failure in this tournament. Which of the two ironclad
defenses will yield in Wednesday's semifinal? France is seeking to
become the first host nation in 20 years to reach the final but has lost
its scoring touch along the way, tallying one lone goal in its last four
hours of play as it struggled past Paraguay and
Italy.
Croatia, which gained independence only seven years ago, has already
surpassed modest expectations and, unburdened by pressure, sparkled with
thrills and goals as it swept past Germany in the
quarterfinals 3-0. In this coming-of-age game against Germany, Davor
Suker personified Croatia's play with deft skills and lethal finishing,
showing that newcomers can have the cool heads of veterans. Suker
believes Croatia has the edge because it will be fresher for the semifinal
than France, which needed an overtime Golden Goal to down Paraguay in the
second round and penalty kicks to overcome Italy after a scoreless draw in
their quarterfinal. "This is our advantage," Suker said. "They will
feel that more and more with every minute the game goes on." French
forward Youri Djorkaeff conceded, "They have the wind in their sails."
Yet, in spite of the evidence, France is considered the favorite for the
semifinal. For one thing, the French have the crowd behind them. The
nation of 60 million has slowly but surely been waking up to prospect of
winning the cup, and with every game the pulse of France has been
quickening. At the Stade de France on Wednesday, the vast majority
of the 80,000 fans will be rooting for Les Bleus and urging them on to
finally, at last, score another goal. Home advantage would seem a
formidable help, but one has to go back to 1978 in Argentina to
see a host nation prevail. France was the losing semifinalist in
three earlier World Cups -- in 1958, 1982 and 1986. This French
team, though, has shown great confidence throughout the tournament, and
with a defense like it has, who wouldn't.
Suker has already scored four goals in the World Cup for Croatia (AP) | |
Led by Marcel Desailly and
Laurent Blanc in the center and Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu over the
wings, it has conceded only one goal so far, a penalty at that. The defense
is tall and robust in the center and quick on the wings to counter deep
penetration from opponents. It seems the only person not impressed
with the French defense is Croatian coach Miroslav Blazevic. He calls it
"not that strong" and "vulnerable." France's defensive midfield is
not to be scoffed at, either, with Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit
tirelessly working to feed playmaker Zinedine Zidane. It is up front
that the problems lie. Everything works like clockwork until the ball has
to be put into the net and there, everything has stalled for the last two
games. The Golden Goal winner against Paraguay last week was scored
by defender Blanc. The situation is so bad that forwards like
Djorkaeff are driven to bold predictions. "I know I will score. I
feel I will score against Croatia," he said. For other strikers only
the result counts. "It doesn't matter if I don't score. The most
important is the defense and the title," said Stephane Guivarc'h.
Croatia also has had a watertight defense in its 1-0 second-round win over
Romania and
its demolition of Germany, with Igor Stimac, Slaven Bilic nd Dario Simic
providing a rock solid base. The heart of the team is captain and
central midfielder Zvonimir Boban, who may be less elegant than Zidane, but
who also spreads the ball around with great efficiency. Wingers
Mario Stanic and Robert Jarni keep play open wide as much as possible with
their deep runs, providing space for Boban and the forwards. Real
Madrid's Suker already has four goals and can still equal or surpass the
top scoring of the tournament -- five goals by Christian Vieri of Italy and
Argentine Gabriel Batistuta -- with two games to go.
"They have great
individuals," said French coach Aime Jacquet.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
