Here is some analysis of the game from the football sites I’ve been following:

The Rootless Cosmopolitan (I think he’s right about the importance of the French midfielders, and I love his comments on Domenech)

BBC (via Deadspin - which I’m starting to love even though it’s a Denton site. It has the traditional Denton sarcasm, but it also has a heart)

ESPN soccernet

NYT

By playing so much better, France had sent the message, Look, we came to play — if you’re going to win, you’re not going to be able to do it on your charm, Ronaldinho’s toothy grin, and “Joga Bonito.” You’re going to have to figure out how to beat us — and since you’re just realizing all this for the first time now, you probably won’t.

http://s93143764.onlinehome.us/IMG_2476.JPG
http://s93143764.onlinehome.us/IMG_2477.JPG

I watched the game in a nominally Irish pub called One and One in the East Village. I had seen the Mexico-Iran game at the same pub the first weekend, and the place today had probably 3x as many people as then. Of vocal supporters, it was probably 2:1 French to Brazilian, which made it a great vibe. No matter what was happening, someone was chanting or singing. “Alleeeeez Bleus!” got sung a lot.

I was rooting hard for France throughout, mainly because I was with a French-American who incidentally is a big Marseilles fan. I also wanted Brazil to lose on general principles. Today was about… the 8th day or so I’ve spent watching the Cup in bars and the like, and I’d probably not trade that one game today for all the other days put together.

France beat the pants off of Brazil. I think it was apparent Brazil wasn’t going to win at halftime already. There was nothing that Brazil could point to, really, like a bad call or some flukey bit of luck. France played harder, played better — and, I would bet, had a much better gameplan, whether that means something that the coach dictates or something that a handful of players had in their heads vis-a-vis their individual assignments. Which is all a long way of saying, the quality on the French side was an edifice that the Brazilians weren’t just going to be able to blow down. When the ball is on the opponents’ side 80% of the time, you’re going to lose.

What a game. Damn, that was sweet!

A couple of pics I took below. I actually took a lot more than this, but these are the only ones that even approximate the vibe; the others are all just folks looking at a TV, basically. These were taken after the game, when the pub began pumping “We Are the Champions” at high volume (also, incidentally, an effective way of saying, Get Out).

I was growing weary of the Brazil hype… They do play brilliantly at times, but it was time to go. I’ll look forward to watching Ronaldinho next season in La Liga.

Excellent quote from Thuram, Matt!!!