When France take on Portugal for a place in the final of Euro 2000 in Brussels on Wednesday it will be a great chance to see a number of mouth-watering head to head match-ups.

Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo
A clash between two of the world's top midfielders who are also real team players, working tirelessly and unselfishly to create chances for others but suddenly lethal when a chance presents itself.

Figo supplies the Portuguese bullets with precision crosses, bewildering defenders with short dribbles and sudden bursts of speed from either wing. Fluid and unpredictable, he scored a fantastic goal against England in Portugal's opening 3-2 win, lashing his long-range shot past the rigid David Seaman.

Zidane, the inspiration behind France's 1998 World Cup winning side, is at the peak of his powers. Like Figo, he is shy off the field but commanding on it. He too has scored just once at Euro 2000, in the quarter-final against Spain.

Whoever wins this particular battle can expect to be named player of the tournament and will probably go on to be player of the year. There are few better candidates.

Fabien Barthez and Vitor Baia
Portugal have not conceded a goal since the two in the opening game against England but former Barcelona goalkeeper Baia has not had a particularly impressive tournament so far after recovering from a knee injury. He stopped a penalty in the quarter-final against Turkey but has looked tentative at times with questionable positioning.

Barthez, joining Manchester United after the tournament as the world's most expensive goalkeeper, is sharper but almost made the world champions' most costly mistake against Spain when he conceded a late penalty in the quarter-finals. Fortunately for France, the Spaniards failed to convert for the equaliser.

Marcel Desailly and Nuno Gomes
One of the world's great defenders, Desailly has been a backbone of the French defence since Euro 96 and France have not lost since then whenever he has started along with Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu.

Gomes is the youngest player in the Portuguese squad but has found a rich vein of form, hitting the winner against England and two more against Turkey in the quarter-finals. His pace and ability to provide the final touch that Portugal have sometimes lacked in the past will be a real test.

Thierry Henry and Fernando Couto
The rejuvenated Henry has given France more bite up front, named as man of the match for the first two games of the group phase as leading striker in partnership with Nicolas Anelka. A tireless runner blessed with amazing speed, his control of the ball is also superlative and he scored a brilliant goal against Denmark and another against the Czech Republic.

Couto has great passing skills and movement but also knows when to cut out the style and concentrate on the safe option. A central defender who is also strong in the air. Man of the match against Romania.

Didier Deschamps and Rui Jorge
Likely to be the most intriguing battle for supremacy after Zidane-Figo. The veteran Deschamps, famously dubbed a "water carrier" by Eric Cantona, continues to provide excellent service in midfield and will be making his 100th international appearance. He also feels he has a point to make, after suggestions that on-form Patrick Vieira would do a better job.

Rui Costa is another unpredictable Portuguese match-winner, the Fiorentina playmaker who has so far provided telling passes rather than goals in this tournament. He has yet to score but is quite prepared to bide his time. Deschamps is an old rival from his time in Serie A, when the Frenchman was at Juventus.