A big first for France

In Brazil, where soccer is almost a religion, and where the nation's identity is bound tightly to the fortunes of its national soccer team, there will be weeks of mourning and months of bitter recrimination. In France -- well, the French will be toasting their heroes for days to come, and might actually begin to work up some lasting Gallic passion for a sport that has always competed for public affection with the Tour de France and even rugby.

These are the probable outcomes of France's devastatingly complete victory over a favored Brazilian team in the World Cup final on Sunday. The score was 3-0, but even that surprisingly wide margin did not reflect France's superiority.

The French mounted a robust offense, with two first-half goals from Zinedine Zidane, a midfield maestro known mainly for his exquisite passing. He was the toast of Paris Sunday night, and will be forever remembered as the man who brought France its first World Cup, and denied Brazil its fifth.

But it was France's suffocating defense that carried the day. The mesmerizing freelance work for which Brazil is justly famous simply failed to materialize, and its superstar, Ronaldo, disappeared altogether.

Thus ended one of the world's great sporting events, a marathon exercise involving 32 teams plating 64 games over 33 days, and commanding the undivided attention of most of the world from start to finish. An estimated 2 billion people watched Sunday's final.

One notable exception was the United States. Its team disappeared early, and its television ratings for the tournament were relatively low. Those Americans who did tune in, however, know how far their country must travel if it hopes to be a serious contender when the next World Cup rolls around four years from now.

-- The New York Times