By Sarah Smithon Thursday, 6 Jul 2006 The World Cup will end with an all-blue final in Berlin as France knocked out Portugal with a penalty from Zinedine Zidane, meaning they will face Italy.
The match had echoes of the semi-final match in Euro 2000, during which Zidane again put the Iberian team out by way of a penalty.
Despite starting the tournament slowly, Zidane seems to have grown in confidence and regained his stature as the legendary three-time World Footballer of the Year, captaining the experienced French team to their second World Cup final since 1998.
Zidane had already retired from international football in 2004, but a "powerful presence" persuaded him to return.
"One night about three o'clock in the morning I woke up suddenly and began speaking with someone. It was like a revelation and suddenly I realised I had to go back on my decision to retire," he said.
The 1-0 victory last night in Munich means that Les Bleus will now face the Azzurri, who saw off host nation Germany with two late goals in the other semi-final.
Before the tournament, Italy was rocked by a match-fixing scandal but it seems to have made the country's World Cup squad even more determined to win for the fourth time.
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