Portugal is good team, they have dominated all the second half but if they have continued their actions instead of diving, they could have scored. Really don't understand what they try, because the referees have certainly watched their matchs against Holland and England, and they have probably a bad opinion. For me, it's a mistake, and they are responsable of their defeat by always try to have a penalty instead of continue their actions.

"LIBERTÉ, EGUALITÉ E VANCIFUDÊ!"

Which means???

You don´t want to know...

Hi RC Lens! I agree with you, it's stupid always trying to dive. I sometimes reproch players not to continue their actions even after being throw off balance, because sometimes there are still advantage...

That avatar of yours.... scares the hell out of me... how can that guy be so ugly? I guess he won the award of the uglier player in the world...

Oh

For me he is not ugly, i had a style, and i think he was more charismatic than many players and i like him because he gives all of his heart like the inhabitants of the north of France that he is.

Hi superkiwi !

on est en finale ! on est en finale !

I´m portuguese and I congratulate France for their win. I think we played quite well until the penalty, with moments of true brilliance, but after that with was just a showdown of diving and cheating. Let me say to all the people that we, portuguese fans, do not buy that way of playing football and we hate to see our players in such miserable displays.It´s not our fault that the manager allows his players to dive without punishment, so dont take it as being a cultural issue.

As per the game itself, Portugal just demonstrate how a poor striker can ruin the entire team´s work.Pauleta is a kind of player that just not deliver in the big occasion.Maniche played very well (for me a man-of-the-match performance) Ronaldo apart from the dives did well but it was just about it. Deco was completely out of the game´s pace just as Costinha and Figo suffered the lack of a decent striker in the box. France didn´t show a great deal either but when it came to defend the advantage they did it perfectly.And that´s what is all about. Congratulations to the winners, good luck for the final (Henry is a bit tired don´t you think? )

P.S.- Being Portuguese doesn´t mean i cant see things properly and try to find excuses or scaping-goats for our defeats. I think you englishman should make an effort in that direction to avoid in the future, humilliating rants as those against Cristiano Ronaldo.

I think i agree here: neither team was brilliant but the French did outclass Portugal but I expected that. i wish it had not been a penalty shot that was the only goal - it was a pretty small penalty. I have really supported Portugal so far (partly because they are young and trying hard and partly because they were considered underdogs) but I didn't like the way they played the first half - too cheap and dirty.

HOWEVER I would like to point out that blaming the players is kinda silly. A coach like Scolari is a dictator. If he didn't want them diving, they wouldn't be. Cristiano Ronaldo is a brilliant player and I think we would all cry in losing a big game like that. And I repeat what i said earlier in a different forum: Rooney was at fault not Ronaldo. Booing a rising young star is truly bad form and the crowd should be ashamed. As far as Portugal's effort goes, Ronaldo played a first class game, and worked his butt off to get something going. Too bad Deco was invisible and Scolari too stubborn to put in an extra striker.

Vive la France! Vive Zizou!

Thanks Jarara

Pauleta is not a bad striker, he's the best striker in France and he was always good in french championship. If he can't score with portugal team, it's because he is too alone in the attack that's my opinion.

Good post! 100% agree with you.

How about going to the newcomer's section to introduce yourself.

I just want to have a quick say on the matter:
1) I think the penalty was legal. Ricardo Carvalho was kicking air really and he was nowhere near the ball. Replays will show you that his trailing leg did indeed caught Thierry Henry.

2) I'm very disappointed with Portugal. Pauleta clearly does not score in big games. I think he needs to really play better in the important matches.

3) I think Portugal took diving to a new level really. Before anyone post anything about me being biased, I am not English. From Singapore as you can see. I believe I offer something objective here. Fact of the matter is you did dive. Yes I know other teams do it too but unfortunately in life, two wrongs do not make a right. And this is sad. Your team has talented players. I would rather see them use their talent to break down the defence instead of trying to put the referee in difficult situations. What did Helder Postiga do when he came on? He took a tumble. God gave you guys talent. Use it.

Carry on discussing. Keep it polite though!

Kind regards,
yeek

regarding ribery he had a horrible car accident when he was young that disfigured him...there is no reason to take the [beep!]

he is great

man it may sound cowardly but i fear the french ...

France won, and won well!

Although not great, the french did what they thought it was convinient: scored from the spot (penalty, no doubt about it) and simply stood there, closing the path to their goal and keeping the Portuguese out of the box.

I think Pauleta is an inofensive player. He doesn't battle for the ball, he gets beatten all the time and it had a very poor exibition yesterday. Too bad Miguel got injured, because I would love to see Portugal with Postiga and Nuno Gomes. Postiga, although, didn't harmed the french defense also.

As far as I can see, Portugal simply wasn't able to beat the french expirience. They tried, they did it well, but it was not enough. So, France simply won well, scoring in the first of two chances in the game, while Portugal had four and scored none...

Congratulations to all the french supporters who see football like me, in a passioned but reasonable way.

I hate these guys that come here telling they were robbed, that Ronaldo was fouled and stuff like that, as much as those that say that Portugal team are cheaters and don't know how to play. Everybody dives, in every country. Even yesterday, Henry dived, although Ricardo Carvalho did fouled him. He could have stood and go for it, but he simply felt the touch and fell off. Ribery was a natural diver, trying to go through Valente, loosing the ball and... ops, <catrapum> in the grass...

Guys, that's football...

I'm proud of my team. Since I was a kid, I always heard about the 1966 team that achieved the 3rd place in England, the great Eusebio and the one-in-a-life performance. I remeber the 2nd ever Portuguese participation in a WC, in 1986 in Mexico, where we got eliminated in the group stage with England, Poland and Morocco. Those were bad times, but today I finally felt what is like to see my team reach the semi-finals in a WC.

OBRIGADO, PORTUGAL!!!
OBRIGADO, LUIS FIGO!!!
OBRIGADO, SCOLARI!!!

PS: Raimond Domenech should be ashamed... When the match was over, turned to the portuguese players in the bench and screamed "Aha, I f*cked you once again!!". Too low... Very low in did...

Great post! It sums up my feelings for the match and the performance of the Portuguese team in this WC.

I wish I had seen Nuno Gomes playing last night. He normally does well in this kind of situations and is frequently clever enough to find a tiny little space to kick the ball and score. Anyway, I'm sure Scolari did what he thought was the best for the team and.. he's the expert and the boss!

But France, as I said in a previous post, did well, scored and managed to defend the result. It's as simple as that!

Let me copy paste what you said and make yours my words :

OBRIGADA, PORTUGAL!!!
OBRIGADA, LUIS FIGO!!! (Figo, as Scolari said, should have the opportunity to play for at least 15 more years! He'll always be my favourite player and he's an example of a "Senhor do Futebol" , inside and outside the pitch!)
OBRIGADA, SCOLARI!!!

I've accompanied this team ever since '96 (due to my age ), when we were still a growing team and got happy whenever we reached the quarter-finals in the Euros. Now I can see we're finally among the best and can play at the same level of a great team such as France!

WELL DONE PORTUGAL!

Congratulations France.


What i think of the match is,Portugal played well in the first minutes much better than france.
Its true that we didnt saw Henry, Zidane and Ribery doing a good game but our team didnt play much better.The penalty didnt exist it was a excelent diving (French players can dive to),but we didnt lose because of that.We didnt score any goal and we had a fiew chances.In the end i have to say that we didnt deserve to win.One team that want to be worlchampion cant play like that.


Who will win the wcup? I dont know...its difficult to say who.

Good luck for both teams. Italy x France


Congratulations for our team,they tried hard to win.And they fight in the last fiew minutes quite well.Now its time to win Germany.OK!


GO PORTUGAL

Great post Striker, but concerning your last sentence, I wonder where do you take that from, probably a declaration of a portuguese player or Scolari himself who is surely fluent in French language ? Translation is treason sometimes...

However, Domenech had a very bad experience with a portuguese team when he was coaching the under 21 team. Does it ring a bell to you ? Or do you need me to refresh your memory ?

Certainly not an excuse but it could explain a little bit of teasing from Domenech...

BTW Ronaldo was part of that "famous" U-21 team and this could also be an explanation why he has been booed by the French fans.

Well strik3r, i really dunno where you heard or read that, Domenech never said such a thing after the match..

You should check your words before writting them and accusing people

well how do we know whether he did or did noy say those words , were there cameras focusd on him showing that or is it all just rumours by the press .