The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 37

36SP0R S5 TOYOTA 19S8 soccm WORLD CUP www.smh.com.au FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1998 i fi i It 1 i 0 FULLBACK LILIAN THU RAM'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL GOALS SEND FRANCK TO TIIK FINAL LAURENT BLANC'S DREAMS SHATTERED READ MICHAEL COCKERILLS DAILY ANALYSIS FROM PARIS AS THE WORLD CUP MARCI IKS TOWARDS ITS CLIMAX lit r. a (DID. The so" imitl.oini MICHAEL COCKERILL EXTRA TIME -7. -r ff, I V-' How one professional footballer can do this to another is difficult to comprehend. Only Bilic can answer that question.

But he should never enjoy the respect of his fellow players again. The pity is that he has also stained the reputation of a Croatian team that has managed to capture the imagination of the football world. Only seven years after the nation had won independence, its team of true patriots had made its way into the last four of the World Cup in its first time in the competition. Whatever was to happen, this would be remembered as a magnificent achievement. For much of a tension-filled evening at St Denis, there was the promise of the ultimate prize of a place in the final.

But justice was done when fullback Lilian Thuram chose this night, of all nights, to open his scoring account for the French national team. Not just once, but twice. In his 37th appearance for Les Blues, he startled himself and the audience by hitting the net twice within the space of 15 minutes to cancel out Croatia's opening goal by Davor Suker. The first two goals came within two minutes of the start of the second half and could hardly have been better timed. The first half was a dire affair, riddled with free kicks, mistakes and nervous, hesitant play.

It was by far the worst half of football seen in France 98 and a stark contrast to the ebb and flow of the other semi-final between Brazil and the Netherlands 24 hours earlier. Surely the worst had passed, and thankfully that was the case. Suker stunned the crowd when he beat the offside trap in which Thuram was the guilty party, and finished coolly under the body of goalkeeper Fabian Barthez for his fifth goal of the competition and a possible share of the golden boot award for the top scorer. It was only the second goal the French had conceded in the tournament, but they reacted in the manner of champions. Thuram went straight down the right flank from the kick-off, hustled Zvonimir Boban into an error, worked a wall pass with Youri Djorkaeff, and had the ball in the net before the Croatian fans had sat back in their seats.

It was a stunning reply, and FRANCE CROATIA 2 1 Of one thing we can be sure. Slaven Bilic will never play football in France and, quite possibly, will never take a holiday there again. It wouldn't be safe. Until now, Bilic has been an endearing sort of character. Hard, uncompromising and sometimes ferocious.

A rogue, but a likeable one all the same. But all that has changed. For the First time in their history, France are into the final of the World Cup. But they will have to pit their skills against Brazil without the services of Laurent Blanc, their sweeper and inspiration. Victory over Croatia in the semi-final became a bitter-sweet celebration with Blanc banished to the dressing-room after being sent-off with 15 minutes to go.

A crying shame Croatia's Slaven Bilic reacts to the incident that resulted in the dismissal of France's Laurent BlanC. Photo by REUTERS There was a push and shove in the penalty area as a free kick was about to be taken. Blanc grabbed the shirt of Bilic, true enough. And he did raise an open hand. But what happened next defies belief.

Bilic took a split-second to glance in the direction of the Spanish referee, then went down as if hit by a truck. Senor Jose Garcia-Aranda took the bait. Out came the red card, and off went Blanc on a slow, desperately Jonely, trudge down the tunnel. It was impossible not to feel sorry for him. He was framed on the flimsiest evidence, for the siow-motion camera never lies.

The biggest day for French football beckons, and he will have to watch from the sidelines. On the charge France's Zinedine Zidane, left, rides the challenge of Croatia's Zvonimir Soldo during the World Cup semi-final in Paris. Djorkaeff and Stephane Gui-varc'h looked as lacklustre as ever. The search for a genuine goalscorer will clearly have to wait until the World Cup is over. And so it was left to the unlikely source of Thuram to put the fans, and Croatia, out of their misery.

Again he won the ball in a crucial area, this time catching Robert Jarni off seconds. By that stage the whistles around the Stade de France were deafening, and finally, after four minutes of extra time, Garcia-Aranda blew for full-time. And so the two teams who were not required to qualify for the tournament will contest the final of the 16th World Cup. French coach Aime Jacquet was honest enough to concede FRANCE'S defensive midfielder Christian Karembeu was a doubtful starter for Monday morning's (Sydney time) World Cup final against Brazil because of a strained left ankle, a team spokesman said. Karembeu sustained the injury and had to be substituted in the semi-final victory over Croatia.

BRAZIL were still strongly favoured to win the final despite France's victory over Croatia. Latest William Hill betting in London: 4-1 1 Brazil, 13-8 France. Brail are even money to win in 90 minutes. A draw is 2-1 and France are 5-2 to win in normal time. CROATIAN striker Davor Suker can still come out of the World Cup a winner despite his side's 2-1 loss to France.

Suker's strike, 28 seconds after the break, made him joint top-scorer in the competition with five goals. Gabriel Batistuta of Argentina and Christian Vieri of Italy share the top spot in the scoring charts with the Croat. Brazil's Ronaldo would become the No 1 scorer in the tournament if he scored twice in the final to overtake the top trio, providing Suker does not score in the play-off with the Netherlands for third. The top scorer in the past jive finals has scored six goals. SOCCER Australia chairman David Hill said it was only a matter of time before Australia hosted a World Cup.

Hill said Soccer Australia had kept the option open of hosting the 2006 Cup but he was more hopeful of 2010, with a formal bid costing about S20 million. LIVERPOOL are prepared to meet England World Cup star Michael Owen's future contract demands to keep him at the English Premier League club. The 18-year-old scored one of the best goals of France 98 in the second-round clash with Argentina. He signed a long-term 10,000 contract with Liverpool last year and chief executive Rick Parry said the club was optimistic it would always be able to meet his financial demands. A FRENCH gendarme beaten into a coma by German hooligans after a World Cup match last month was showing signs of improvement, hospital doctors in Lille said on Wednesday.

Daniel Nivel. 43, was repeatedly smashed over the head by the hooligans with blunt instruments in the June 21 attack. Two Germans are in custody. PARENTS named their newborn babies after him, newspapers hailed him as a soccer saint and his critics ate their words on Wednesday after goalkeeper Taffarel's two penalty saves put Brazil into the World Cup final. "Saint said the banner headline on leading sports newspaper Lance in Rio de Janeiro, showing a halo above the veteran player, proclaiming him a national hero.

MOROCCO'S Said Belqola will become the first African to referee a World Cup final when he takes charge of the match between Brazil and France. The 41 -year-old father of four is a customs official from Fez who refereed two first-round matches Argentina-Croatia and Germany-United States without sending a player off. T0Y24146 Blanc's red final blow for men in blue Photo by REUTERS favouritism to Brazil in the wake of this victory, and, given his team's chronic problems in front of goal, it is hard to disagree. But where there is life there is hope, and what France have proved over the past four weeks is the strength of their resolve. This is a team which refuses to lie down, not least because history is in the wind.

States, Blanc considered ending his international career but changed his mind after some persuasion from Jacquet. The libero slot may now be filled by Frank Leboeuf, and Deschamps said he had no doubt about the ability of the Chelsea player to take over Blanc's role. "Frank's a brilliant player and he gets well with stopper Marcel Desailly," Deschamps said. "We all trust him and we're not worried." But Jacquet said the absence of the tall Blanc might be a problem. "It will be tough for us without him," he said.

Reuters in psychological terms, clearly the turning point of the match. The French lifted their tempo, and began to press forward in greater numbers. Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu found space down the flanks, while the previously subdued Zinedine Zidane started to see more of the ball. As always, however, the problems were in attack, where card a Paris Jacquet against France coach Aime is to lodge an appeal Laurent Blanc's expul sion during Wednesday's World Cup semi-final against Croatia. But FIFA said Blanc would definitely miss the final; suspension was automatic, unless there was a case of mistaken identity and it wasn't Blanc who committed the offence.

Blanc, who had never been sent off in his soccer career, either at club level or in his 73 internationals, tried to put on a brave face after seeing his dream of playing in the final shattered by a red card. "Victory is the only thing that really counts," said Blanc, guard, and such was his confidence that he barely looked up before unleashing a left-foot drive from the edge of the area. It was perfectly struck, creeping inside the far post and giving goalkeeper Drazen Ladic no chance. The dismissal of Blanc gave the Croatians some hope, and Barthez was forced into an acrobatic save in the dying "The whole team did a fantastic job and I played my part." Blanc said he had reacted angrily after Bilic had fallen to the ground when the pair went for the ball. "It was tense between us for the whole match," he said.

"I pushed him a bit but it was not nasty. He had tried to make the referee think that I had committed a serious offence and I was afraid I might get sent off. That's why I reacted like that It was silly but I don't think it deserved a red card." Bilic offered a different version: "I tried to block him and he punched me in the face," he said. "I don't care about him. I didn't want him to be sent off, -J I IV, but it was his stupid mistake.

Let him be punished for it." French captain Didier Des-champs, who was close to the incident, said he felt the sanction was severe. "He pushed him on the chest, maybe on the chin, and the guy held his forehead as if he had been punched," he said. "Bilic managed to convince the referee, but really it wasn't worth a red card. "We lose a great player who would have deserved to play a final and who will probably never get another chance. All we can do now is win it for him." After France failed to qualify for the 1994 Finals in the United whose dismissal in France's 2-1 win meant he will have to sit and watch when the host nation take on Brazil on Sunday as they aim to win the World Cup for the First time.

The 32-year-old, playing in his first and probably last finals, received his marching orders in the 74th minute at Stade de France for pushing Croatian defender Slaven Bilic's chin with his open hand. "I'm the only one who's punished and that's good," Blanc said. "The whole team might have been punished if we had lost the match because of me being sent off. It would have been awful. I would have felt guilty.

Marching orders France's red card in the World Cup semi Laurent Blanc is shown the finals. Photo by reuters TOYOTA AUSTRALIAN BROADCAST SPONSOR mmt win lawsw 1998 SOCCER WORLD CUP One great save is often the only thing which stands between victory and defeat. And when it comes to cars, Toyota pursues perfection with a passion which ensures that you are always the winner. That's why we are very proud to help bring you all the excitement of the 1998 Soccer World Cup. Oh what a feeling! 3.