At age 34, Zinédine Zidane has prematurely lost much of his hair but little of his magnificent soccer skill, which was on stirring display Saturday night as France ousted the five-time champion Brazil from the World Cup.

Five-time champion Brazil is viewed as an early favorite to play host to the tournament.

The French then defeated Spain and defending champion Brazil to reach the semifinals.

They played and, despite a 1-0 defeat,to the eventual champion Brazil.

After all, the North Korean squad had acquitted itself respectably in a 2-1 loss against five-time champion Brazil, showing enough strength that the official government news service hailed the "seesaw battle" in which "DPRK footballers created good shooting chances, not losing their confidence even after losing two goals."

Honduras, a late replacement in the 12-team tournament after Argentina withdrew because of security fears, eliminated defending champion Brazil, 2-0, on Monday to set up a semifinal against host Colombia in the Copa America.

In the second round, the U.S. lost 1-0 to the eventual champion Brazil.

Then Norway scored a shocking 2-1 victory over defending champion Brazil in Marseilles.

French playmaker Zinedine Zidane was the hero, heading two goals in the 3-0 upset of defending champion Brazil.

If the United States advances, its likely reward would be a second-round match against the five-time champion Brazil.