France had a reasonably easy passage through their Confederations Cup semi-final against Brazil on Thursday - and go on to play joint-hosts Japan on Sunday.

Man of the match, by some distance you'll be glad to hear, was our own Robert Pires - again, playing in the centre of midfield rather than out wide. He opened the scoring soon after the kick-off, with a move straight from the training ground. An overhit corner was headed back to the D of the penalty area... where the on-rushing Pires smacked it low on the volley, past Dida. He also set up a few great chances for his colleagues, and had a couple of other decent chances at goal. Magnifique!

Brazil levelled it before halftime, with a neat Beckham-esque free kick - which, in Arseweb's opinion, the French keeper (and reported Arsenal target) Ulrich Rame should have dealt with better. Actually, on the whole Rame had a shocker... he couldn't catch a single cross, and couldn't punch too well either. Rubbish. France won it from a second-half corner which dipped into a crowded six-yard box for captain Marcel Desailly to nod home.

The Arsenal contingent more or less ran the show for Les Bleus - Sylvain Wiltord was terrific on the left wing, where he'd clearly been told to get to the byline and cut back every time, and Vieira... well, you know. You may also be happy to hear that Nicolas Anelka had an absolute mare: cows' backsides and banjos spring to mind.

To be fair, the Brazilian selection for the tournament is a bit of a development squad... but on the strength of this performance, you wouldn't want to be Japan on Sunday.