Michael Burgess of the New Zealand Herald tries to understand how a French team who were written off by almost everyone came within a whisker of producing the greatest World Cup shock of all time.
"As we were warned during the week, we probably should have expected this from the French.
"They produced a performance completely at odds with their almost all their previous tournament form, dominating possession and territory (55 per cent) and even edging the second half.
"On reflection the buildup to the final was verging on disrespectful; not only did we completely dismiss the French as worthy opponents but every mainstream newspaper gave front page coverage to the `filth factor' in the days leading up to the final."
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