I was delighted with Brazil's performance in their 3-2 win against Denmark. It is true that the Danes created plenty of problems for Brazil but, nonetheless, the manner in which the Brazilians twice pulled out a bit extra, coming from 0-1 down to 2-1 up and then going from 2-2 to win 3-2, shows that they are a truly class act, capable of lifting their game and winning when and how they want.
The curious thing about this side is that they can still do better and I imagine that most footballing professionals want to see them realise their potential just once, playing some unfortunate side to death, winning the tournament and winning it in style.
There are so many good things to say about this side. Take Ronaldo, for example - even when he is not scoring goals himself he is either creating them for Bebeto, as he did last night, or keeping half the opposition defence all tied up. Then, too, there is the thought that if Ronaldo does not score, there are several others who will. Last night, it was Rivaldo; the next time it could be Leonardo or Denilson or Roberto Carlos or Dunga or practically the whole team.
My only worry about Brazil will start if and when they meet Argentina in their semi-final. The Argentinians are probably the one side in the world not intimidated by Brazil and the one side at this tournament who might just beat them, not by playing better soccer but by conceding nothing in defence and making the most of Brazil's inevitable defensive shortcomings.
I know some people might think it strange of me to say so but after watching France's penalty shoot-out quarter final win against Italy at the Stade de France in Paris yesterday, I believe the France can now go all the way to the final and maybe even win the World Cup.
This might seem odd because yesterday's game emphatically underlined one more time that France have chronic problems in attack, but I feel that surely some day some French player will find the back of the net. Also, it is no harm that their semi-final opponents will be either Croatia or Germany rather than Brazil or Argentina.
France had better find the player to put the ball in the net because they have winged it now in two matches, dominating totally against both Paraguay and Italy without creating many real chances. You cannot hope to pull it off a third time, you cannot always expect to win on penalties or with a golden goal.
Having said that, though, I suspect that next time out, someone like Zinedine Zidane may score for them from a free kick or, indeed, the German or Croatian defence might prove a bit more mistake-prone than the excellent Italian defence yesterday.
Despite their problems yesterday, though, I still like this French side a lot. They play good football while, in Bixente Lizarazu, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram, they have perhaps the best back four in the tournament and in Zidane they have one of the most creative midfielders in the World Cup.
If only the French could find a goalscorer, then all would be well. However, whether it be Stephane Guivarc'h, David Trezeguet, Christophe Dugarry, Thierry Henry or Roberto Pires up front, the end result is the same, a toothless front line which puts itself about a lot but which yesterday forced Italian goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca to make only two or three saves all afternoon. A smaller criticism I would make of France concerns their captain Didier Deschamps, who looks too slow for the covering, ball-winning job he is asked to perform. I would much prefer to see the Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira in that role since his younger legs and good footballing brain could add a lot of quality to a French midfield which, with Deschamps alongside Emmanuel Petit, is short of skilful players to make the most of Zidane's creativity.
As for Italy, they performed yesterday as they have done throughout this tournament. They are an efficient little unit, solid in defence with a touch of class in attack but lacking real quality in midfield, while yesterday they also looked like a side without personality. When it became clear that France were going to play them out of the game, they sunk into their shells and resorted to a very defensive, spoiling, negative game.
Again at the cost of repeating myself, I have to wonder about Cesare Maldini's decision to start with Alessandro Del Piero rather than Roberto Baggio in attack. Del Piero continues to look like a tired player for whom the World Cup has come too late in a busy season, while from the moment Baggio replaced him midway through the second half the Italians managed to lift their game for a while and, in the end, Baggio himself might have sneaked an extra-time winner for Italy. In the circumstances, though, that would have been an injustice since only one side, France, deserved to win this game.
(In an interview with Paddy Agnew)
