France 1 South Korea 1
______________________
THE ENERGETIC SOUTH KOREANS made France start at a far higher tempo than they did against Switzerland.
Playing at Arsenal pace can only help Thierry, you thought, and sure enough he scored after only nine minutes.
The goal was lucky because Wiltord’s shot hit the defender, like most of his shots in the past fifteen years.This one broke to Henry and he took one touch with his right foot before slotting past keeper Woon-Jae Lee with his left.
Remarkably, it was France’s first World Cup Finals goal since Manu Petit raced onto Vieira’s long pass in the ’98 final in Paris.
Henry was pretty fired up, racing around shouting at people like a six-foot Craig Bellamy.
Patrick Vieira found Henry with a majestic lofted pass through the middle and when the defender ran into the back of Henry he fell, appealing, but no penalty was given.
After 31, Vieira powered a header from a left-wing corner by Zidane that went a yard over the line. But Lee clawed it back and play continued,
Great goal, Pat ! But it’s still 1-0.
In 33, Thierry zoomed in from the left flank and tried to play a one-two with Wiltord.A foolish idea. He should have known that.Wiltord went for the ball with his left foot and missed it and the ball hit him on the right ankle. Some things never change.
HALF TIME : 1-0.
Second half, France were ridiculously arrogant, complacent and misguided, playing as if they were 4-0 up rather than 1-0 up.
Their attitude was absurd and self-defeating.
The game is not about possession, it’s about goals.
Vieira was hogging the anchor role in the middle, pushing Makelele wider and further forward than we’ve ever seen him for Real Madrid or Chelsea.
IN 60, RIBERY came on for Wiltord and was sparky.He will gradually become more useful to the team. Unfortunately, the team will not be in this competition for long .
In 81, the Koreans launched a right wing cross high to the far post, Cho Jae-Jin jumped high to head down past the flailing foot of Thuram, and Park Ji-Sung, racing in at high speed, stabbed home on the bounce with the ball flicking up off his shin and over the fingertips of Barthez and dropping down just behind the line, beating a furious Gallas.
AFTER THAT, I was hoping the South Koreans would score again.
Raymond Domenech is a clown.
Like Brazil in their 2-0 win over Australia earlier in the day, the French campaign suffers from a deeply inhibiting protocol where each star is so aware of his place in the pecking order that coherent team play is difficult and spontaneous teamwork impossible.
As with Brazil, the ball has to be passed around according to seniority, so it can’t go quickly to a younger player.
Bringing Trezeguet on with 90 seconds left showed how dopey Domenech is.
He knows his team should have killed the game stone dead in the first half.When he saw it flagging, when he saw Henry hiding, he should have brought on Saha to make runs, head the ball, take people on.
HENRY had been hiding for most of the half but after the equaliser he came alive again.
On 84, when Zidane slipped him a sweet six-yard pass, Henry scuffed his shot.
It was right footed, sidefoot, low to the keepers left, where he always places his shots, and the keeper read it and saved it.A bad miss, really.
If you always shoot in the same way and in the same place, you give the keeper a chance.
At 1-0, job done? Not really, mes amis.
Roared on by stands packed with red-shirted, pogoing, war-painted fans, the South Koreans exposed French arrogance in Leipzig.
___________
PS. Rob Hughes talked to the goalie at 1a.m. today. After the game.
He said he studies Premiership games, he knew where Thierry would shoot, and moved accordingly in anticipation.