The FIFA World Cup. Yes. That's the name which lightens up the world's eyes. All the soccer fans in the world wait for this event which takes place every four years. I, myself, am a big fan of this event. So, I have taken this opportunity to write about this great event.
It was the twelfth day of July in the year 1998, that the final of the sixteenth FIFA World Cup was witnessed all over the world. It started at 12:00 am in India, which happened to be a sunday. As the next day was a local holiday, I woke up late till night, watching the final. The game started amidst the noise made by the spectators. It was between Brazil, who were the hottest favourites to win, and France, who had the crowd cheering for them, as they also arrived as one of the favourites. As the game started, my heart also started thumping loudly. Brazil had the ball in their close control since the game started. But they missed some early opportunities to score. Then, the French started getting aggressive too. It was only in the 27th minute, that Zinedine Zidane, a new player who had not done something extraordinary in the tournament got the control of the ball. Then, Zidane, with some spectacular moves, beat the Brazilian defenders and then, beating the goalkeeper as well, thumped the ball in the far corner of the net, as the helpless Brazilian goalkeeper watched. The crowd went mad with excitement. The Brazilian fans were stunned, but the French were celebrating. The ordinary boy had done it. After some more minutes of clash between both the rivals, the whistle which indicated half time blew, But another minute was added to play before the half time was indicated. The French, especially Zidane made the most of this opportunity, by scoring another goal. This goal was even more spectacular as Zidane slid the ball past the defenders once again, and skidded outside the 'D' area, and scored the second goal. The score now read 2-0, as France seemed way ahead of the Brazilians. After half time, both teams started with Brazil beginning to get aggressive. But the French defence seemed to be too much for Brazil. After the 90th minute, the officials decided to give two more minutes to the game, The Brazilians startred well, but missed two shots. Then, the French regained their control over the ball. France struck again, but this time it was Emmanuel Petit.
Dribbling the ball past the defenders, he beautifully slid the ball in the goal. After 72 more seconds, the referee blew the whistle which indicated the end of the tournament. The French supporters cheered wildly. The Brazilian supporters were heartbroken. But the French hero was Zinedine Zidane who had shown the world that he was no more the 'new kid on the block'.
It was amazing. I loved this World Cup because it showed the rise of underdogs. It surely seemed that the World Cup had come home!
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