Looking Back On How France Beat Brazil

Whether controlling the midfield or headbutting a mouthy Italian, Zinedine Zidane tends to capture an audience’s attention. So it was no surprise that the media showered him with compliments after he captained France past Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals. But Zidane was not the only reason the French took out the boys from Brazil – it took a concerted team effort to be strong on the ball, play quickly and pressure the Brazilians that vaulted the dark horse French squad passed the perennial favorites.

Throughout the match, France played with a perfect blend of poise and urgency. Their attack was poised. Zidane was calm on the ball, yet quick to keep it moving. Unlike Ronaldinho, Zidane recognized the importance of playing the ball quickly, or, at least, taking a touch or two away from oncoming defenders rather than attempting to dice defenders from a standstill. Up top, Thierry Henry did the dirty work, holding the ball and giving the Brazilian defenders fits with his height on aerial challenges. Wisely, Henry was content to win throw-ins and spot kicks for the French, allowing his team to retain possession and dictate the pace of the game.

The urgent aspect of France’s play showed through in their defense of a vaunted Brazilian attack. Unlike Brazil’s, France’s defense was quick to step on their opponent’s first touches and the first to loose balls. This disrupted Brazil’s rhythm, and though they were able to string some passes together (you can’t stop them from doing that) their timing was off just enough to ensure that a final, dangerous ball would not materialize.

But Brazil’s defense proved to be its true downfall. Failing to anticipate the first touches of the French attackers, the Brazilians allowed Les Bleus to gain a head of steam in Brazil’s half. And more often than not, the boys in yellow had to resort to professional fouls in order to stop the French penetration (see the open-field tackle on a streaking Patrick Viera in the waning moments of the first half). If games like this really come down to set pieces, the lackluster Brazilian defense at midfield gave the French a decided advantage.

But what was most criminal was the individual defending on France’s goal. If you look at the replay, there are a number of French players lined along the 18, waiting to time their runs on Zidane’s spot kick. At the far end of that line is Henry, only one of the world’s best scorers. Next to him, not goal-side mind you, is a Brazilian defender who, rather than following Henry on the play, decides it would be better to take a rest with his hands on his knees. How does this happen? How do you leave the other team’s best player alone on a spot kick from a dangerous place on the field? It’s like not guarding LeBron on the final shot. As Howard Cosell would say, “It’s just criminal.”

In soccer, it doesn’t take a wide margin of victory to school the other team. Brazil was never in this one. It was likely only 1-0 because the French couldn’t possibly justify sending too many numbers forward against a team with a reputation for imaginative offensive brilliance like Brazil.

But that creativity never came for the defending champs, their overlapping style slowed by an inability to keep the ball for extended periods and by the sluggish nature of their aging outside backs. Add those offensive woes to a lethargic job defending and you can’t expect to beat a French team that moved the ball quickly, held the ball with poise, defended with vigor and hungered for loose balls.