Finals

The final between Italy and France will bring a clash of two almost impenetrable defenses, certainly the best in the tournament. So, I don’t expect a lot of scoring. Both offenses are obviously capable of taking advantage of the smallest mistake. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the game ended 0:0 with another penalty shoot-out (where I would favor the Italian keeper and the French shooters over the French keeper and the Italian shooters, so a toss-up, it seems), although France might be tired enough in an overtime to give up a late goal just like Germany did.

The small final between Germany and Portugal, while probably not as intense as the big final, might well be the more enjoyable game. The fear of losing gone, both teams might be more willing to just let their considerable attacking powers loose. Germany should be the favorite with their home field advantage. It seems that Oliver Kahn is getting a consolation start in goal (a gift from Jens Lehmann). Some other players need to be replaced (Mertesacker, Friedrich, Ballack, and Borowski are injured — that Ballack has been playing hurt has been obvious), but that gives Klinsmann the chance to conduct some experiments: for example, playing Lahm on the right side of the defense. I maintain that Germany is one central defender away from glory (someone like Thuram or Cannavaro, both of whom will play central roles in the big final).