Zidane penalty gives France hafltime lead

By Timothy Collings

MUNICH (Reuters) – A penalty by Zinedine Zidane after 33
minutes gave France a 1-0 halftime lead in their World Cup
semi-final with Portugal at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old French captain and midfield inspiration
shot low to Ricardo’s right after the kick was awarded for a
foul by Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho on Thierry Henry.

Carvalho was beaten by the pace of Henry’s movement inside
the area and appeared to catch his ankle. The French striker
fell and referee Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay gave the penalty.

Until then the game had been a tense, high-quality
encounter with possession shared evenly but with Portugal
looking more dangerous on the counter-attack with Deco testing
keeper Fabien Barthez and Maniche firing just over the bar.