On Saturday night in Frankfurt Zinedine Zidane produced a near-perfect performance to lead France into the World Cup semi-finals at the expense of Brazil.

Words can hardly do justice to Zidane's majestic and almost virtuoso role in his side's 1-0 victory over the defending champions, who were once again haunted by their 1998 final conquer.

The great master of French football, who scored twice in that magical night in Paris, provided the inch perfect dead ball delivery for Thierry Henry to ghost in at the far post and guide his 57th minute strike into the roof of the net.

And after he continued to light up the stage with a master class of delightful skills, mesmerising close control and a wide range of breathtaking passes, we were left to reflect on what a massive loss it will be for the beautiful game when he finally hangs up his boots.

The 34-year-old will unfortunately retire at the end of the tournament but what a fitting end it would be to his glittering career if he steers his country to ultimate glory in Berlin on July 9.

And who's to say he won't do it?

Les Bleus are on fire at the moment and it is not only Zidane who's seemingly hit top gear just when everybody else seems to be fading away.

Their triumph over the Brazilians was without doubt the finest team display of the entire tournament and made fools of those critics who described Raymond Domenech's men as just a bunch of has-beens.

They spoke to soon and completely misunderstood that winning the World Cup is peaking at the right time. Although they may not have been firing on all cylinders against Switzerland, South Korea and Togo in the group stages, they have finally delivered quintessential goods when it really matters.

They bossed the Spanish in the last 16 and despite falling one goal down, they kept their cool and fought back to beat one of the tournament's leading contenders 3-1 with their major players finally coming to the table.

Indeed Zidane produced touches of quality and class that night which clearly restored his confidence which he was able to continue with extravagance against the Brazilians.

His flashes of brilliance were so clear and even someone with no knowledge of football would have know he was the star of the show.

He enabled France to dictate the pace of the game for virtually the entire 90 minutes, as they caressed the ball magnificently and left the South Americans completely bamboozled.

Not to be entirely out done, Patrick Vieira was an awesome presence in midfield, snuffing out the threat from the 2002 champions time and time again while directing play with such commanding superiority.

Claude Makelele was once more an unmovable object while the outstanding back four of Willy Sagnol, Lillian Thuram, William Gallas and Eric Abidal patrolled their lines with ease and were hardly troubled by anything Brazil occasionally threw at them.

And although Henry and Franck Ribery were not at their best, the fox in the box was in the right place at the right time to win the day while the Marseille youngster once again showed glimpses of his match-turning talents to trouble the Brazil defence.

Brazil were simply overrun in all areas of the pitch and Ronaldo, just like the France '98 final, was all but absent from the scene while the likes of Kaka, Juninho and Ronaldinho were nullified and shackled.

They only rallied briefly towards the end to cause France a few scares but Ronaldo pulled one shot wide of the post while his second was well parried by Fabien Barthez, who had very little to do all evening.

In the end South America's last remaining hope could only sink to their knees having been soundly beaten at such an unfamiliarly early stage.

But for Les Bleus and Zidane, the adventure continues the dream can go on.