Like Super Bowl tickets, the tickets for the World Cup semifinal in Saint-Denis (as well as the tickets for the quarterfinal that my brother and I attended at Giants Stadium in 1994) are souvenir tickets, to add to that sense of it having been a really big deal. I absolutely loved them, and kept them both through the years. Even now, admittedly, I take them out every now and then to simply look at them, and appreciate the fact that my brother and I managed to go to such huge events, and in consecutive World Cups, to boot! The two nations that we are citizens of hosted the World Cup tournament back-to-back, which made me feel almost like an experienced aficionado after the semifinal with Croatia!
France wore their white (away) jerseys for the first and only time in this tournament for the game against Italy. I am not entirely sure why. They also wore their white shorts, as opposed to the blue shorts that they normally wear with their white jerseys. Italy wore blue jerseys with blue shorts.
So, this is the anniversary of yet another game from "Les Bleus" back on this date in 1998.
France actually had an unbeaten streak against the Italians dating back to the early 1980's entering this contest. Still a victory over Italy is never a sure deal, until the game is done, and you have earned a victory. They are one of the sport's most accomplished teams for a reason, after all.
This was a very tight, tough, defensive game, and that is why the game remained scoreless throughout regulation. As the game wore on, it became clear that a single goal would be really huge, probably a game breaker.
But neither team scored that goal, and it went into overtime - the second straight overtime game in the elimination round for the French side.
The game was still incredibly tight, and remained scoreless through the overtime with no "Golden Goal" for either side in this contest, which meant that this one was going to penalty kicks.
In a very exciting, intense atmosphere, France essentially outlasted the Italians in the penalty kick contest, assuring them their first semifinal berth in the World Cup since 1986. This time, these wins were coming before their home fans, and it was clear that France had an excellent side that had a good chance of reaching their first ever World Cup Final, which would give them the rare opportunity to win the whole thing.
First, of course, they would have to play their next opponent, Croatia, and get past them in order to do so. Still, it was time for the French team and their fans, which included my family, to enjoy this huge victory over Italy, and to celebrate good fortunes. Croatia was up next, but there were a few days in between.
For now, I was still in America, preparing for the big trip to Paris, France. I was going to leave on the sixth, and arrive in Paris early on the morning of the seventh. My brother had tickets for the big semifinal game in St. Denis, where France essentially hosted the surprising Croatian side, who had just trounced Germany, 3-0.
I watched the Italy game at home, on the Spanish language station Univision (again, we did not have cable at the time, and never had it to that point). The reception was not great, although I recorded it (and still have the game on tape somewhere). What an exciting conclusion, and I still remember Roberto Baggio, one of the biggest stars of the 1994 tournament who wound up being the goat when his penalty kick against Brazil in the Final sailed well over the goalpost, consoling the guy who wound up missing the clinching kick, Dino Baggio, in this contest.
Italy's World Cup hopes were dashed, and their tournament was over. But France was moving onto the Semifinal, and my brother and I were going to be there for that game!
France v. Italie - Quart de Finale - Coupe du monde 1998
3 juillet 1998 - Coupe du Monde - Stade de France (Saint Denis)
Hard to believe it's already been seventeen years - we're slowly but surely creeping up on the two-decade anniversary. (!)
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, I was actually at work when the France-Italy game took place, much to my dismay since as you can imagine I would have liked to watch it. Hopefully France will get back to the top of the footballing mountain at some point in my lifetime, but if that doesn't happen, we can at least always look back on that glorious period from about 97 to 2001, when Les Bleus seemed to have everybody's number and won the silverware to prove it.
Yes, but I also very much enjoyed their 2006 run to the World Cup Final, despite the fact that they ultimately lost in a very deflating fashion. It was a really great run, and I only remember it fondly, up until just before the admittedly bitter end. I still think that they could very well have won if Zidane had not been foolish and ruined his legacy in that match. That really took the air out of France that night.
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