Defender Lilian Thuram, whose two goals against Croatia steered France into tomorrow's World Cup final against Brazil, was one of four French players chosen in FIFA's all-star team yesterday. Brazil also had four players in the team -defender Roberto Carlos, midfielders Dunga and Rivaldo, and striker Ronaldo. The other three French players in the 16-man team selected by FIFA's technical study group were goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, defender Marcel Desailly and midfielder Zinedine Zidane. Three Dutchmen and the Laudrup brothers from Denmark were also included. England's 18-year-old forward Michael Owen earned a place as a reserve, but the team did not include a player from Germany after their disappointing performance in France.
The team is selected by a panel which includes leading coaching figures such as Dutchman Rinus Michels and Slovakia's Jozef Venglos.
Fifa Team - Goalkeepers
Fabien Barthez (France), Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)
Defenders
Marcel Desailly (France), Roberto Carlos (Brazil), Frank de Boer (Netherlands), Lilian Thuram (France), Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
Midfielders
Edgar Davids (Netherlands), Dunga, Rivaldo (both Brazil), Zinedine [RO ] Zidane (France), Michael Laudrup (Denmark)
Strikers
Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands), Ronaldo (Brazil), Brian Laudrup (Denmark), Davor Suker (Croatia)
Reserves
Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands), Thierry Henry (France), Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Michael Owen (England), Juan Veron (Argentina), Christian Vieri (Italy)
