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| June 24, 2003 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 23,1424 |
Colombia book berth in semis
Colombia 1 Japan 0
PARIS, June 23: France thrashed New Zealand 5-0 in the Confederations Cup on Sunday to finish top of Group A and guarantee a semifinal clash at the Stade de France.
Two first-half goals by Olivier Kapo and Thierry Henry and a third by Djibril Cisse in the 71st minute put the former world champions firmly in control.
Midfielders Ludovic Giuly and Robert Pires completed the rout with goals in injury-time.
France topped the group with a maximum nine points and will now play the runners-up of Group B in the last four.
New Zealand ended the tournament with three defeats out of three, a repeat of their performance four years ago in their previous appearance in the Confederations Cup.
In an earlier clash playmaker Giovanni Hernandez sent Colombia into the Confederations Cup semifinals on Sunday when he rifled home the winner in a 1-0 victory over Japan in Group A.
Colombia, who join group winners France in the last four, had needed all three points at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard to go through and seized them in the 68th minute when Hernandez pounced on a mix-up in the Japanese defence.—Reuters
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