ã Reuters

France made soccer history here on Sunday night, when the underdogs beat defending champions Brazil 3-0 to win the last World Cup this century before a delirious crowd of 80,000 people.

France had never reached a final before, but they lifted sport's most coveted trophy with two first-half goals from Zinedine Zidane and a 90th minute strike from Emmanuel Petit.

Even the 68th minute sending-off of Marcel Desailly, for a second bookable offence, could not spoil a night which finished with skipper Didier Deschamps lifting the cup and celebrations breaking out across the country.

The host nation fully deserved their ultimate triumph, teaching a static Brazil how to play the disciplined attacking football which has characterised their campaign at France 98. Ronaldo, tipped as the star of the final, was badly handicapped by an ankle injury and nearly didn't play, while Zidane finally showed why he is rated as the world's best midfielder.

Players on both sides burst into tears at the final whistle, French President Jacques Chirac raised his arms in triumph and co-organiser Michel Platini broke into a huge grin. Brazil had just played their worst match of the tournament.

French coach Aime Jacquet, who now steps down from the national coaching job, said: " We are very proud, we worked very hard for this. " We didn't just want to be finalists, " the 56-year-old went on. " We have worked very hard for the last two years and we justified everything on the pitch. We deserved to win. " We've got huge faith in our players, who have improved as the tournament has gone along. " We've been through everything in these World Cup finals, with the sendings-off of Zidane and (Laurent) Blanc, and yet we've made up for their absences and overcome all the obstacles. " And to crown all that, we've had the sending off tonight of Desailly. But this team has extraordinary heart. "

Though the trophy was won by the nation's soccer elite, Jacquet said: " It's a great reward for French football, and that includes all the coaches in small clubs who have to struggle every Sunday. " Zagallo, who kissed Jacquet and held up a French team shirt with the coach's name on, said: " I wanted to go to the Arc de Triomphe tonight to celebrate, but it's no place for me now. The triumph is with you. " Zagallo revealed that Ronaldo's injury had been serious enough that team morale had suffered a bodyblow even before kick-off, while the 21-year-old ace himself had nearly been substituted. " For the whole match, I didn't know whether I ought to take him off, " Zagallo said.

But he also acknowledged: " We lost to a better team. We lost it in the first half almost as soon as we went 1-0 down, and certainly at 2-0 that was virtually it. " During the second half, we went for all-out attack and we had the upper hand for a while. But we weren't able to make the difference.

That's the way football goes. " Taking the disappointment on the chin, he said: " A fifth title will just have to wait for another time. I would have loved it to be this time. We did everything we could, but it was not our day. France were the better side. "

France were the better side throughout the tournament. They won all their their matches, scored more goals than anyone else (15) and conceded fewer goals than anyone else-only two, to boast the meanest defence of any winning side. On the night, France scored three but could have won 6-0 after Stephane Guivarc'h missed two sitters and Christophe Dugarry bungled another. Brazil were under pressure from the whistle and it was nearly 20 minutes before their first real threat came from a Ronaldo cross which nearly ended in Barthez's net. Rivaldo followed up with a header from Leonardo's corner which again put the French keeper to the test and Brazil looked to be gradually waking up from their lethargy.

But they were suckered by France's bodyblow goal in the 27th minute. Roberto Carlos needlessly gave away a corner and Zidane outjumped Leonardo to Emmanuel Petit's corner to flash a header into the back of the net past a helpless Taffarel. France's first howler came in the 45th minute, when Lilian Thuram fired a superb long ball over the Brazilian defence, Aldair missed it and Guivarc'h was put clean through.

Taffarel somehow managed to get a hand to the Frenchman's close-range shot and turn it round for a corner. That corner then led to a second corner, this time from the left, and to France's second goal. Djorkaeff drilled the ball over and, in a carbon copy of his first goal, Zidane headed home. Brazil showed more initiative in the second half and it took a candidate for save of the tournament to stop Ronaldo in the 57th minute.

The Inter Milan ace collected Roberto Carlos' floated cross at the far post and had time to control the ball before lashing it from inside the six-metre box into Barthez's arms. Guivarc'h should also have scored when he was put clear by a long Franck Leboeuf through ball but missed with Taffarel again at his mercy.

He paid the ultimate price 30 seconds later when Jacquet ordered him off, in exchange for Dugarry. Guivarc'h was joined off the pitch shortly afterwards by Desailly after the French defender's crunching challenge on Cafu earned him a second yellow card. Desailly was only the third player to be sent off in a World Cup final. The other two were Argentina's Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti in the 1990 final they lost 1-0 to West Germany. Brazil tried to turn the screw, but Denilson's wildly inaccurate shot in the 70th minute summed up the Brazilians' luckless evening. Dugarry missed the biggest sitter of the match in the 82nd minute when Zidane's lob put him clean through into the penalty area, but as Taffarel came out the striker scuffed his shot aimlessly wide. It looked destined to end 2-0 when Petit scored only his second ever goal for France-the first having come in the 2-1 win first round win over Denmark.

The Arsenal midfielder finished a three-man move after Dugarry picked out Petit's clubmate Patrick Vieira on the break. Petit collected the defender's pass before tucking his shot past the advancing Taffarel. It was the perfect finishing touch for a memorable evening in world  sport, rounded off by fireworks, massed singing of " La Marseillaise " and the image of Deschamps holding the World Cup high above his head.

© - AFP - 1998