Italy v France

The 2006 World Cup is finally coming to an end very soon. The final will be between Italy and France. I'm going to make a very bold prediction here, not just the score line but a minute by minute prediction. I shall start by naming the possible lineup for both teams.

Italy will play a 4-5-1 formation with the following players:
GK - Buffon
DEF- Grosso, Materazzi, Cannavarro, Zambrotta
MID - Gattuso, Pirlo, Perrotta, Camoranesi, Totti
FWD - Toni

France will have the exact formation too with:
GK - Barthez
DEF - Sagnol, Thuram, Abidal, Gallas
MID - Vieira, Makelele, Zidane, Ribery, Malouda
FWD - Henry

The following will be the minute by minute (almost) match prediction:

00' Start of the first half. Italy to get the game rolling.
01' Totti passes the ball to Toni. Toni skips past 2 defenders with only Barthez to beat. He shoots straight to Barthez who couldn't catch it cleanly.
05' Zidane passes to Ribery who races down the flank to cross it to Henry. Henry appears to be fouled by Cannavarro by the referee was not convinced.
11' A long goal kick by Barthez reaches Henry. He chested it down and raced towards goal with Materazzi chasing after him. A tackle by the Italian and Henry was seen going to ground and rolled in agony all the way to the cameramen. A yellow card for the absurb play acting.
20' Great passing by the Italian midfield leads to a Totti v Barthez showdown. However his effort was denied by the woodwork.
30' Gattuso wins the ball from Vieira and crosses it to Perrotta who races forward and crosses it to Toni who heads it wide.
34' Barthez dribbles the ball almost to the Italians half but losses it to Pirlo. Pirlo lobs the ball towards goal only to miss by an inch. What was the French keeper thinking?
41' French freekick. Zidane takes it by couldn't get pass the solid Italian wall. The ball bounces back to Toni. The Seria A top scorer makes a fool out of Thuram and goes one on one with Barthez.
42' GOAL!!! Toni scores his 3rd goal in this World Cup. Italy are leading the match.
HALF TIME

SECOND HALF
48' A superb cross by Malouda finds Ribery who chested it down and shoot towards the goal. Buffon was finally beaten! Ribery did a summersault celebration but landed awkwardly. It looks like a dislocated foot. To make matters worse, the goal was disallowed for offside.
49' Substitution: Ribery OFF. Wiltord IN.
55' A back pass by Pirlo finds Camoranesi. He goes for goal, hit the woodwork but Toni was there to head it back into the net. GOAL!!! 2-0 to Italy. France are in deep shit...
61' Foul by Materazzi on Henry. However Henry was furious and pushes Materazzi to the ground. Players from both teams were arguing and the pitch looks like a meeting between 2 rival gangs. Henry was shown a Red card while Materazzi received a yellow.
63' Free kick to Italy just outside the penalty box. GOAL!!! Andrea Pirlo with a superb free kick to put it beyond France's reach.
70' Substitution: Toni OFF. Del Piero IN.
72' Del Piero makes a mockery out of the French defence with his sublime skills. Barthez fouls him with a flying kick towards Del Piero's gut. The referee has no choice but to send Barthez off.
A penalty kick to Italy.
73' Substitution: Sagnol OFF. Coupet IN.
73' Totti steps up to take the penalty. GOAL!!! 3-0!!!
80' Camoranesi with a well taken long shot from just outside the box. GOAL!!! Italy couldn't have asked for more. They are 4 goals up.
85' All the French players are back to defend a corner. The ball drifts in towards goal. Zidane's balding head got to the ball first. A powerful header by Zidane ended up behind the net instead of clearing it. Certainly not something he would like to remember for the French legend. Can you believe it? 5-0 to Italy.
90' Another corner to Italy. Can Italy put another dent into the French defence?
91' Captain Marvel scores from a header. Nobody was marking the Italian captain. Goal!!! Big big mistake against someone the likes of Fabio Cannavaro.
92' End of match.


There you go, my prediction for this years World Cup final. A 6-0 victory to Italy. They have won the World Cup 4 times now. Henry, being the Arsenal player he is, has learn a thing or two from his former teammate, Pires. Vieira was not inspiring as his trademark sperm on the jersey was clearly missing. Barthez? Back with his usual blunders. How did I get my absolutely accurate prediction? I asked the crystal ball :)