Euro 2000 final - France v Italy Preview

New European champions will be found tonight in Rotterdam as Euro 2000 ends its three glorious weeks with the meeting of the two best defences in the competition.

While it would be exciting to think that tonight's match for the title will see an intense display of well worked attacks the reality is that both coaches have created sides who are excelling in keeping out the opposition.

France have been portrayed as a team of football romantics but the presence of Zinedine Zidane is the exception in a team that is well organised and gives very little away.

Certainly this was the foundation of their World Cup triumph two years ago and it is essentially this side which coach Roger Lemerre will field tonight.

Critics believed the early displays by the French showed that they were able to score goals freely but Lemerre has definite problems in his forward line as he approaches the final act of a great month of European football. Thierry Henry was in great form in the first two games of the competition but has since faded completely. The statisticians are showing that France have had more shots than any other team at Euro 2000 but Henry is no longer taking them. His barely visibly outings in the last two matches are unlikely to see him axed from the team but either he is unable to cope at this level or play maker Zinedine Zidane cannot find him with the ball or Henry is not making runs into the centre.

Whatever the problem is France have no other likely contender to score goals unless the already overworked Zidane is given that responsibility as well. Anelka does not look ready at this level and the Italian defence must be confident that they can keep out Henry who failed to make an impression in Serie A with Juventus two years ago. His tendency to drift wide is still there and it restricts French options in front of goal unless the midfield is to contribute more

Emmanuel Petit was taking all the free kicks against Spain and Portugal but they were all poor deliveries and Zidane should be entrusted will all of the them in the final especially if Petit does not play due to illness.

France are coming to rely more and more on Zidane as the competition reaches its conclusion but while their top player is a genius on the ball he can hold no surprises for the Italian midfield and defence who see him every week in Serie A.

This is part of the problem for the French team. Zidane is one of 13 squad members who play in Italy or are moving there next month. These players all know each other extremely well and when this happens variety in passing tends to die and both teams cancel each other out.

There is a danger that the final will need a mistake to decide the title winner as both sets of players are well drilled and organised enough to stop each other from attacking with results.

Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram have been exceptional in the French defence but Italy know that Laurent Blanc relies on positioning and does not like strikers to run at him with the ball. He is set to retire from the national team after tonight There is speculation that Italy coach Zoff will field Marco Delvecchio in attack from the start tonight as his aerial ability and physical presence could bring other Italian attackers into the game.

This was a real problem for Italy against the Dutch in Thursday's semi final. Zoff started with Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi in attack and neither player could hold the ball up at all. Possession was lost by each player many times and Italy were pushed further and further back into defence.

Zoff has to change the way his attack works and Delvecchio is a sensible solution. A tough player who runs well with the ball, the AS Roma star would give Del Piero a decent target to hit or better still he could be paired with the impressive Francesco Totti.

AS Roma leader Totti is the exceptional attacking talent of this Italy team and his team work and selfless style also suits Zoff's team pattern. He can also test eccentric French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez with his shooting and is a valuable option for Italy to have if they try to play for a win from the start.

The form of Filippo Inzaghi and Del Piero continues to frustrate and neither did enough in the semi final to justify a place in the starting line up tonight but Zoff is likely to start with both.

This could mean more work for the Italian defence and France are capable of building a midfield impetus if they are allowed to retain possession for long spell. Zoff is risking an out of form attack in the final and the French defence should be able to cope with the Juventus pair who are low on confidence.

Indeed both teams are fielding attacks which are much less convincing than their back lines.

The final comes down to the ability of the 'Bunker' defence in front of the exceptional Toldo to keep out the French creative star Zinedine Zidane.

The 'Bunker' of Maldini, Iuliano, Cannavaro and Nesta know Zidane's game but sometimes the true greats just cannot be stopped. It is hard to defend against what Zidane does best but he faces a unit that squashed the in form pairing of Patrick Kluivert and Dennis Bergkamp out of the Euro finals in front of their own Amsterdam fans. It is the first great contest of the century and France are asking Zidane to do too much to succeed tonight and add the European title to their World Cup.

Half Time score - France 0 Italy 0

Full Time score - France 0 Italy 1

First scorer - Francesco Totti

Number of corners - 12