France, Portugal Fill Out Last 4

'Little Team Of Old Men' Runs Circles Around Brazil: France 1, Brazil 0

Thierry Henry of France beats Brazilian goalkeeper Dida on a volley of a free kick by Zinedine Zidane, who was masterful in upsetting the defending champions. (By Lionel Cironneau -- Associated Press)

FRANKFURT, Germany, July 1 -- The French players were supposed to be too old and the Brazilians were supposed to be too good for Saturday's World Cup quarterfinal to have ended like this, with France in the semifinals and Brazil heading home.

But it was the French, with a starting lineup that featured five players 30 years or older, who darted around the field at Commerzbank Arena with style and purpose and energy. It was the Brazilians, the defending champions with two of the world's greatest offensive players, who were lethargic in their attack and sloppy on defense. And it was Les Bleus , spurred on by a masterful performance from 34-year-old midfielder Zinedine Zidane, who claimed a 1-0 victory over the defending champions and earned the final spot in the semifinals.

Zidane, who says he will retire from soccer once the World Cup ends, set up France's goal in the 57th minute with a free kick that was volleyed in by Thierry Henry. France will play Portugal in Munich in Wednesday's semifinal, and Les Bleus' victory means that there will be only European teams in the final four for the first time since 1982.

This was a rematch of the 1998 World Cup final, won by France, 3-0. Brazil hadn't lost a game in the World Cup since -- a record 11 straight wins -- and it entered Saturday's game as a decided favorite. Brazil, which played in the last three World Cup finals, suffered its earliest exit since 1990.

"I want to be honest, it's a hard moment for us," Brazil Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said through an interpreter. "It's very hard when a Brazil squad is beaten in the quarterfinals. I wasn't prepared -- no one was prepared to leave. No one thought we'd leave before the finals."

But if the Brazilians were going to make an early exit, it was likely to come against Les Bleus, who have now won three straight World Cup meetings between the teams. In 1986, France bested Brazil on penalty kicks in a memorable quarterfinal in Mexico. Twelve years later, France won its first -- and thus far only -- championship with an inspired performance, which included two goals from Zidane, in front of a home crowd.

Reminders of that night in France were everywhere Saturday; a total of seven players who appeared in the 1998 final were on the field at the start of Saturday's game, three in yellow shirts and four in white. But much had changed for Les Bleus since they raised the trophy in 1998; they crashed out of the 2002 tournament without a victory or a goal, and then were held scoreless in their first match in Germany.

But Coach Raymond Domenech's "little team of old men" proved in its 3-1 victory over Spain in the round of 16 that it was still capable of special performances. And as one banner in the stadium proclaimed, "Old France is Magic." Particularly Zidane.

In the very first minute against Brazil, Zidane danced away from trouble, his feet flashing in what appeared to be gold shoes. Midway through the half, he juggled the ball around Kaka, a player 10 years his junior; Zidane bounced the ball off his right foot, his thigh, and then volleyed it with his left. In the second half, he beat Ronaldo by flicking the ball in the air and then heading it by the forward, who seemed rooted to the ground.

"It's Zidane," Domenech said through an interpreter. "You seem to be surprised. I'm not surprised at all; we know exactly what he is capable of doing."

Brazil chose not to mark Zidane with a specific player -- "Brazil does not mark individuals," Parreira said -- and the midfielder helped France control much of the game. Just before halftime, Zidane sliced through the Brazilian defense, leaving Lucio and Gilberto Silva flailing on the ground, and played the ball ahead to Patrick Vieira. The sellout crowd awoke and roared as Vieira charged toward the goal, but Juan tackled him from behind, drawing a yellow card. Henry smashed the ensuing free kick into the wall.

In the 57th minute, Zidane, out on the left side, floated a free kick from about 30 yards and somehow Henry -- who has scored more goals than any current French player -- was left completely alone at the far post. Henry, who was a reserve on the 1998 champion and was disappointed to not appear in the final, scored with an easy right-footed volley.

As for Brazil, Parreira decided to reduce his magic -- Brazil's "magic quartet" of attackers, that is. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka started the game, but forward Adriano was left on the bench. Ronaldinho, the world player of the year who did not dominate the tournament as many expected, was listed as a midfielder, but he played up top alongside Ronaldo.

But Brazil was wasteful offensively, taking only one shot on goal. Brazil attacked furiously in the final five minutes but came up empty: a Ronaldinho free kick went just over the crossbar, and a Ronaldo blast was blocked by defender William Gallas.

The Brazilians seemed stunned at the end of the game, while the French players celebrated wildly. Zidane seemed somewhat subdued; he will get to play another game.

"I think it's precisely because he's going to retire that he's fully invested in this game," Domenech said of Zidane. "He doesn't have to calculate anything, and every moment could be the last one. We tell every player to think that it's your last match, and then they can invest full in it. He does it naturally."