World Cup Final
Final Thoughts

France wants it, Italy needs this.

Italian soccer might look very different in the next few years. With a dark day on the horizon, the players know they are holding a ray of light to carry the nation through the tough soccer times that lie ahead.

"It's inevitable not to think a little bit about what is happening back home, but my priority is Sunday's final," Del Piero said. "I think Juve will be well represented on Sunday, and I hope that the Italians and the Juve fans will be able to smile. After Monday I can think about my future and the club's situation."
In the meantime, there should be one last celebration.

-Tom Timmerman
St. Louis Dispatch

Les Blue Azzurri History

In the 1998 World Cup, France ousted Italy on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals as Barthez stopped one attempt before Luigi DiBiagio thumped Italy's last chance off the crossbar. One of the Italians' worst defensive meltdowns occurred two years later in the finals of the European Championships, when France's Sylvain Wiltord scored the tying goal in the 90th minute before David Trezeguet scored a golden goal in the 103rd minute for a 2-1 win.

Roster Update
Look for Danielle De Rossi to come off his 4 match suspension and take the starting role of Mauro Camorenesi. The rest of the lineup will look as it did for the German and Ukraine game.

Headlines

Final Hurrah
Final Reckoning
France legend Zinedine Zidane has set the scene for the perfect final bow in football - the World Cup final against Italy on Sunday.

Cannavaro Can Claim Golden Ball
Buffon On Verge Of Clean-Sheet Record
Zidane poised for ultimate farewell
Lippi: It's all down to hunger

A Place In History
After a month of thrills, controversies and sheer exhilaration, the World Cup final has arrived. Italy and France carry their respective nation's hopes upon their shoulders with a place in sports history on the line.

Oh by the way, if the game is that good, we can expect an encore on Sept. 8 in the Euro 2008 qualifying.

Long History Tangled Up In Blue

Italians Carry Tune, Country
On grass stages all over Germany, Italy has been in almost perfect harmony the last four weeks and has moved within one victory of their first world title in 24 years and fourth overall.

The France national team is ridiculed across Europe for all the niggers and minority players on the team. The French prime minister as well as other government officials are embarassed of having monkeys represent them.

Racist incidents among fans have waned in French stadiums in recent years, even as they proliferated in other European countries, particularly Germany, Italy and Spain. There, spectators have pelted black athletes with bananas and screeched at them like monkeys. Analysts say this kind of behavior mirrors growing concern about immigration across Europe.

All set for seventh all-European final
Zidane Gives Himself Chance To Write His Own Ending

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