Superb Thuram rolls back the years

Lilian Thuram struggled to comprehend his achievement after earning the right to play in a second FIFA World Cup final. "I'm 34 and I feel like a ten-year-old boy," said the France defender after last night's 1-0 victory over Portugal.

Great comeback
Les Bleus completed one of football's great comebacks on Wednesday - whatever the outcome of Sunday's final against Italy in Berlin. Win or lose, their incredible turnaround from the despair of their humiliating first-round exit as holders in 2002, plus an uninspired start to this tournament, is the stuff of sporting legend. Thuram, who played in the 1998 triumph, said: "This will be my second final, this is just unbelievable. A second final, I hadn't expected even to have a chance to play in one."

'Solidarity'
Thuram had announced his international retirement following France's quarter-final defeat at UEFA EURO 2004™, but returned along with Zinédine Zidane and Claude Makelele with the team struggling to qualify for Germany. Unlike the other two, the thoughtful Thuram agreed to play only after coach Raymond Domenech selected him against his will. Thuram continued: "There's a lot of solidarity between us. There were some ego problems earlier but not any more."

'A dream'
The centre-back, who will quit the national side for good on Sunday night, said he was looking forward to facing opponents he knows well after a decade in Serie A with Parma FC and Juventus. "I know their players and they're really strong. They're probably the best team in the tournament and I knew they would go a long way. But the final has been our objective from the start. Being there is a dream. Missing it would have been a nightmare."

'Recuperate'
Domenech added: "What matters now is to go all the way. We can't be content with what we've got. We have to recuperate and start focusing. We must give all we have in that final to make sure we have no regrets. I salute Portugal for making us suffer, but there had to be a winner. It was clearly our toughest match and they were the side that caused us the most problems - more than Brazil, but in a different context.

Team game
"This France team showed their ability to endure pressure, buckle down, stick together and hold out. You just have to look at the efforts our forwards made. They stayed alert when they came back to defend, never forgetting they might get a chance to express themselves going forward. The 12 players who didn't start give the others support and keep the pressure on and should be applauded for that. We've been playing every match knowing we could be eliminated, but that's the true essence of football. I feel calm."