Back in the days when he played for Arsene Wenger at Monaco, Youri Djorkaeff was nicknamed 'the Snake' by the man who is now in charge at Arsenal.

He earned the label by the way he struck with venom just when the opposition were off-guard. The footballers of Spain and several thousand of their wonderful supporters who had gathered yesterday at the Jan Breydel Stadion in Bruges will testify that the serpent's fangs are as deadly as ever.

Djorkaeff is 32 now and entering the twilight of what has been an illustrious career for his country and a chequered one at club level where he has plied his trade at such contrasting venues as Grenoble, Strasbourg, Monaco, Paris St Germain and Inter Milan before moving to Kasierslautern in Germany.

His last move would suggest that the spiral is now a downward one but it is also true that he has rarely played badly for France in more than 60 appearances. So come the match which would prove to be the most intense of all the quarter-finals, France manager Roger Lemerre turned to Djorkaeff.

Once again, he did not disappoint in the 2-1 win.

This was by far the toughest of the remaining matches in Euro 2000 to predict. France, world champions, against immensely gifted Spain.

It was a game for Marcel Desailly's commanding presence, for Didier Deschamps's leadership, Patrick Vieira's appetite for the physical battle - and for Djorkaeff's cunning.

No other individual had such an influence on the outcome. He earned the free-kick for the first goal, scored the second and then applied some voodoo on the ball to ensure Raul missed the last-minute penalty that could have taken the match into extra-time.

No wonder he said afterwards: 'That was the most difficult game of my international career.' Some verdict from a man who has played in a World Cup Final.

'As for my goal, the control of the ball was important,' he said. 'I am strong on that and as soon as I had my first touch I just knew I would score. I just knew it.'

Djorkaeff also played a part in the opening goal of the game in the 32nd minute that brought the initial sparring to an end.

Vieira could have scored for France in that opening and Zinedine Zidane should have as he completely missed a cross from Christophe Dugarry. Raul, meanwhile, had brought the best from Fabien Barthez with a delicious chip that seemed goalbound until it was turned over.

The breakthrough came when Djorkaeff showed his experience and professionalism by securing a free-kick some 20-yards out. It was Zidane territory and Djorkaeff knew it. 'I tried to provoke the foul,' he said.

'You know the French team do not gain enough free-kicks and at last we were given one.

'What did I say to Zizou (Zidane)? I just said to him to put it into the net. He did. The last 15 minutes were a big test for us but we just put on the blue coat of France to protect the lead. It was a big win and an emotional game.'

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Petit is under treatment to ensure his readiness for the semi-final against Portugal on Wednesday after he missed out yesterday because of a knee injury.