Spain earns a penalty and takes a 1-0 lead on an exceptionally well-placed PK.
Ribery, easily the man of the match and showing talent he’s kept well-hidden in previous World Cup engagements, outran two defenders and beat the keeper 1 v 1 to tie the score. That’s how things stood at half time.
Viera heads in a Zidane free kick to give France a 2-1 lead, then Zidane finishes the Spaniards off with a nice run down the left side of the depleted defense. 3-1 France.
Summary: Ribery needs to play like this more often. Henry, offsides close to 10 times, was again a complete non-factor in the French offense. He should be benched. Zidane did well, as did the French defense. They’ll all need to take it up a notch against the Brazilians, though.
The Spanish disappoint and underachieve again. As technically talented as any team other than Brazil, Spain always finds a way to lose. They should not have lost to a French team that still has no finisher, but that’s Spain for you. See ya in 4 years, guys.