MATCH REPORT
FRANCE 2 - 1 PORTUGAL (AET)
Henry 51 Gomes 19
Zidane pen 117
Well that was a close-run thing in the end....Portugal took a shock lead with virtually their only attempt on goal in the entire game after Deschamps had failed to clear a bouncing ball, with Nuno Gomes latching on to the loose ball and firing unerringly home...Thereafter it was almost entirely backs-to-the-wall stuff for the Portuguese, as the French threw everything but the kitchen sink at them....Finally after 51 minutes, they got their dues, Thierry Henry scoring his third goal of the tournament after being fed by Anelka, who was, according to German TV, 65cm onside....Then, with Portugal desperately trying to hold out for penalties, they conceded one; Sylvian Wiltord's goalbound shot being handled on the line by Xavier, and the Portuguese protesting disgracefully for a full four minutes....None of this bothered the majestic Zinedine Zidane, who gave Raul a lesson in penalty-taking to send the French to their first final since they won it on home soil in 1984.....That wasn't the end of it though, Nuno Gomes was sent off after the final whistle by a delightfully Austrian referee...Dignity, always dignity....(!)
POSTSCRIPT - Gomes, Xavier and another one, oh yes, Bento, that's it (!) have been handed bans, which FIFA are expected to recognise as well, from all UEFA competitions ranging from 6 to 9 months for persistent haranguing (gotta love that word!) of the ref and one linesman for what seemed like half-an-hour which included the linesman receiving a mouthful of gob for his trouble......Bye bye! Bye bye!