 What a World Cup final we have in prospect, Italy against France!
The French deserve their place in the final after a solid win over Portugal on Wednesday night. The defence, marshalled by Thuram and Gallas, was outstanding and earned a place in Berlin on Sunday.
The group stage wasn’t easy for France, with two early draws against Switzerland and South Korea, they struggled early on but their big players have started to perform in the knockout stage.
In Thierry Henry they have the best striker in the world, in the last couple of games he has really shown how good he is. Zinedine Zidane has been outstanding and has pushed forward to create things in the knowledge that Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira are covering behind him.
Meanwhile, Marcello Lippi has done a wonderful job leading Italy to the showpiece event especially with the corruption allegations and court cases going on back home.
The scandal does not seem to have effected this band of players and they have performed to an excellent level.
Luca Toni has impressed me with his performances. The Fiorentina striker finished top scorer in Serie A last season and I’m sure there will be a number of Premiership clubs keeping tabs on his situation.
There is likely to be a few of the Azzurri’s midfield stars available this summer and no shortage of takers after an outstanding World Cup.
Francesco Totti has returned to full fitness and form and was outstanding in Italy’s semi-final success over Germany, although I think he may struggle to make an impact on Sunday.
Makelele will be handed the task of keeping the Roma playmaker quiet, while Zidane is given license to create his magic going forward.
I think France will come out on top and the experience they have, with several players having already won the World Cup, could prove crucial. I fancy Les Blues to win 2-0 and Thierry Henry to score the first goal.
They’ll be more from me tomorrow.
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