Bochum, Germany – Surprise teams in the World Cup semifinals are hardly a surprise.
Since 1982, the last time four European teams got this far – West Germany, Italy and France made it, along with, unexpectedly, Poland – there was just one tournament when a relative outsider didn’t sneak into the semifinals.
Only in 1990, with Italy, Argentina, England and eventual champion West Germany, did the status quo hold. Otherwise, there have been the likes of Belgium (1986), Sweden and Bulgaria (1994), Croatia (1998), South Korea and Turkey (2002).
Now, there are the Portuguese, who might finally be realizing the promise of their “Golden Generation,” even if nearly all of those players have given way to youngsters of the next generation.
Luis Figo is the only remaining member of the group that was expected to carry Portugal to greatness in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Instead, the Portuguese disappointed, with the lowlight a first-round elimination from the 2002 World Cup, including losses to the Americans and Koreans.
“It’s worth suffering for moments like this,” said Eusebio, Portugal’s greatest player and the leader of the team that finished third in 1966 – the last time the nation had a significant impact on the World Cup.
Seeing the French in the semifinals is almost shocking considering the disarray on this team entering the tournament.
Despite its tradition and wealth of talent – Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Fabien Barthez – France was within one half of another first-round exit before putting away Togo 2-0 and advancing.
France has climbed on the shoulders of Zidane, who has gone from average to extraordinary in the past two matches.
“We’ve been saying among ourselves here all along that France would get to the semifinals, despite their bad start,” Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira said Sunday. “Some said France wasn’t going to do anything, but it’s not easy to beat Brazil.”
Generally, the surprise semifinalists wind up in the third- place match and not playing for the trophy. Indeed, not since Czechoslovakia lost to Brazil in 1962 has an interloper even made it to the championship game.
“It is another team, another story we have to live,” France coach Raymond Domenech said. “In the end, comparisons are tiresome.”
