World Cup 2006

EFE

Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane made sure of that by converting a penalty kick in the 33rd minute Wednesday night after teammate Thierry Henry was tripped in the box by Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho. Zidane, who came out of international retirement to help France qualify for this year's tournament, sent the spot kick into the bottom left corner, just out of the reach of Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.

The 1-0 result means France advances to play Italy in Sunday's final in Berlin. Les Bleus are looking for their second World Cup title. Zidane led the French to a 3-0 win over Brazil on his home turf in 1998, scoring two goals in the final on headers.

"Now that we are here, after all the effort we have made, we will try and bring it home," Zidane said. "It won't be easy, it will be hard, but we have the weapons to do it and we have the will to do it."

When Zidane returned 12 years after making his international debut, no one questioned whether the three-time world player of the year was still talented enough to compete in soccer's grandest show. But, at 34, his fitness was in doubt.

Yet he has shown all the magic of his youth, orchestrating the French attack from the midfield with incisive passes and dazzling runs. On this night, what the French needed was his poise from the penalty spot. He also needed to play with care because he was playing with a yellow card, and a second would take him out of the final.

"He's worked hard solidly for the past month to be ready to play a match like this," France coach Raymond Domenech said. "He played all out to reach the final without holding back."

Zidane's goal was his 30th for Les Bleus in his 107th appearance, and second at this World Cup. That put him in a tie for fourth place with Just Fontaine and Jean-Pierre Papin on France's all-time scorers list. Zidane also scored in the second-round win over Spain.

The goal Wednesday night also echoed the golden goal penalty he scored six years ago in the European Championship semifinal against Portugal. That game-winner also set up a final against Italy, which France won when David Trezeguet scored the winner in extra time.

"Pressure, yes, but there is always pressure when you take a penalty," Zidane said. "I told myself that if I score and we don't allow any goals, we will be in the final. I didn't think of anything else."

A player of uncommon skill and technique, Zidane's ability to control almost any ball and see the field, coupled with a penchant for big-game goals, has invited comparisons with some of the game's greatest creative talents. He's gotten better with every game in Germany, and his performance against defending champion Brazil in the quarterfinals was one of the best of his illustrious career. His precise passes split open Brazil's defense, his dragbacks sent players the wrong way, and he even twice pointed one way as if to indicate the direction of his pass and then turned around sharply in his signature spin move.

"When you see him play like that, it's others who should be stopping, not him," France defender Lilian Thuram, who was urged out of retirement by Zidane, said after the Brazil game.

Zidane played his final club season for Real Madrid after moving from Juventus, where he won the FIFA awards and the prestigious Golden Ball award in 1998. The son of Algerian immigrants, Zidane honed his exquisite ball-handling skills as a child while playing in the narrow alleys of the tough Castellane neighborhood in Marseille.

He has come a long way from those gritty streets, but he carries those talents with him to this day. And once again, he's carrying France to the World Cup final.

"It will be good to lift the Cup again one more time," Zidane said. "We really want to succeed."