A Zinedine Zidane penalty-kick handed France their ticket to the World Cup final after a 1-0 win over Portugal on Wednesday. Zidane, who inspired France to World Cup glory in 1998, converted the winning goal from the spot in the 33rd minute after Thierry Henry was tripped by Ricardo Carvalho. The result set-up a repeat of the Euro 2000 final between France and Italy, who beat hosts Germany 2-0 on Tuesday, in Berlin on Sunday. France won the Euro final 2-1 courtesy of a golden goal from David Trezeguet.
Figo's dream run came to an end Portugal had first crack on goal after Cristiano Ronaldo set-up Maniche with a lovely flick of the heel at the edge of the area but the latter fired wide in the 9th minute. The Portuguese had goalkeeper Ricardo to thank for maintaining the score line as he denied efforts from Thierry Henry and Frank Ribery after the interval. Portugal nearly leveled in the 78th minute when France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez fumbled a screaming Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick only for Luis Figo to head over the bar on the rebound. Portugal, who have reached the semi-finals for the second time in history, will have to battle it out with Germany for the bronze medal on Saturday.
