France win on Golden Goal

	Delvecchio (21) enjoys his goal (SBotterill/Allsport)

	Henry crosses beyond Cannavaro (ActionImages)

After they had Gianluca Zambrotta sent off against Holland in the Semi-final, they sat back and defended in the numbers. That upset the commentators, pundits and fans who had enjoyed three weeks of festival football.

But everybody is quick to put out of their minds how England did exactly the same thing against Argentina at France 98. That was heroic of course, where the Italians were far from it.

But, for the first 10 minutes or so in Rotterdam, it looked as though the purists were going to get their way and we'd have a fast moving game in which both sides would put in an supreme attacking display and give us a classic.

In truth it took that long for the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly to get into their game. The rest of the half was very much a non-event.

There was none of the skill of Zinedine Zidane. He was anonymous throughout the first period, seldom getting on the ball and never able to put in one of those exquisite balls which have become so famous throughout this tournament.

In the first few minutes both sides had the chance to break the deadlock. Thierry Henry put Christophe Duggary in but he shot wide. At the other end it was Marco Delvecchio who was almost put through but Fabien Barthez came out early to hoof the ball clear.

Francesco Totti was then guilty of the first real miss of the match. He was found free in the area but made a hash of his header and could only send the ball wide.

The Italians were showing more in front of goal and it was Delvecchio who should have scored with just eight minutes on the watch. Stefano Fiore produced a fine cross from the right to find the striker free, but his attempt at the volley was poor and never troubled Barthez.

Unfortunately, that's where the entertainment just about ended for the first half. There was the odd moment of inspiration, but nothing that was going to trouble two fine defensive units.

There was finally something to wake up the watching millions just before half-time as France pressed forward looking to take the initiative before the break.

The ball was played in and as Desailly ran into the box he appeared to swing an elbow into the face of Cannavaro. The referee played on, and seemed to signal that he knew something had gone on but didn't see exactly what that was.

Desailly was a very lucky man. He may not be so lucky after the game and can expect a call from UEFA's disciplinary committee.

The second half was much better than the first. Let's face it, it couldn't have been much worse.

It was the goal that made the difference. It meant the French had to come out and attack while the Italians largely played to their big strength - score a goal and sit back.

The goal itself was beautifully crafted, but there have to be question marks over the French defence. Totti played the ball to Gianluca Pessotto on the right and his cross evaded both Blanc and Desailly to find Delvecchio unmarked on the edge of the six yard box.

He simply couldn't miss and Barthez had no chance. He will be hoping the Manchester United defence are more protective when he links up with his new Old Trafford team mates for the coming season.

At last we had a game on our hands. But France looked stunned after Delvecchio's 55th minute opener, and within four minutes it should have been 2-0. Alessandro del Piero was the culprit as he fired well wide when through on goal.

And that from a man who earns a reputed £70,000 a week.

The French onslaught then came in earnest. But, for all they huffed and puffed at the Italian back line, they could not work a way through.

France managed to create several half chances, but they couldn't managed to forge a clear cut opportunity. Henry twice found himself on the ball in front of goal but he was short on time and Francesco Toldo was able to block.

Just as the French thought their pressure was going to pay off, it was again the Italians who forged a fabulous opportunity to wrap up the match. Del Piero was yet again the culprit, through on goal he scuffed his shot into the hands of Barthez.

The world's highest paid footballer was then, right at the death, made to pay a high price for his errors in front of goal. Deep into injury time, 55 seconds from the end of four minutes of added time at the end of the 90, it was all square.

Sylvain Wiltord found himself free on the left hand side of the box eight yards out and fired the ball across Toldo and into the bottom corner of the net.

To say France were lucky is an understatement. Italy had defended brilliantly for 93 minutes and five seconds before Wiltord struck.

The undoubted man of the tournament, Zinedine Zidane, was very quiet throughout the match. He never got up to the level of play we had seen from him in the preceding games.

Then it was time for the Golden Goal. Germany won Euro 96 with an Oliver Bierhoff goal, this time it was the turn of David Trezeguet.

And what a goal it was.

Substitute Robert Pires turned Cannavaro brilliantly on the left flank and cut inside to pull the ball back for Trezeguet.

Trezeguet was left free on the penalty spot and he rifled in a thunderbolt of a shot which gave Toldo absolutely no chance.

There were tears in the Italian camp at the final whistle, but France were definitely the best side at the tournament. However, no-one could have guessed that they would win the tournament the way they have.