HANOVER, Germany _ Zinedine Zidane earned himself another shot at the
World Cup on Tuesday, avoiding the prospect of retiring from international
soccer on a gloomy note.
Zidane, who has said he will retire from soccer at the end of this World Cup,
scored in injury time and gave a masterful display of attacking midfield play to
lead France to a 3-1 win over Spain and a quarterfinal showdown against Brazil.
That will whet Zidane's appetite further.
Eight years ago, he scored two headers to lead France to its only World Cup
title against Brazil.
"We'll have to prepare the same way," Zidane said. "We know each other well.
We're all happy to be together and you can see that. It won't be easy, but let's
wait and see."
In the 83rd minute against Spain, Zidane took a long time to compose himself
over a free kick, curling it dangerously into the Spanish area. Xabi Alonso
headed it backward to Patrick Vieira, and the Juventus midfielder headed home.
With Spain pushing forward, Sylvain Wiltord clipped the ball to Zidane on the
left. He jogged forward, cut inside Carles Puyol, composed himself and then
drilled the ball past goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The win only France's second in four games at this year's World Cup.
"We really wanted to show that while the first round wasn't easy, we were
capable of a few things. And this evening we have demonstrated that we have a
good group that wants to go further," Zidane said.
Zidane's goal was his 29th for France on his 105th appearance. His last World
Cup goal was France's second against Brazil in 1998.
The Real Madrid midfielder will soon end a 12-year international career which
saw him guide France to the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship titles
and be named FIFA World Player of the Year three times.
A player of uncommon skill and rare technical poise, Zidane's ability to
control almost any ball, his elegance, vision of the game and penchant for
big-game goals saw him compared with some of the greatest creative talents in
the game, like Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff.
