France has defeated Croatia 2-1 in their World Cup semifinal match at the Stade de France. The French goals came from an unlikely hero — defender Lilian Thuram — who struck in the 47th and 70th minutes. Davor Suker scored Croatia’s goal in the 46th. After Laurent Blanc’s red card, Croatia pressed for an equalizer against 10-man France, but had difficulty penetrating the well-organized French defense. Robert Jarni sent an excellent long ball into the box for Suker in the 89th minute, but Marcel Desailly recovered in time to knock the ball out of play and Barthez caught the ensuing corner kick. France continued to attack, particularly on the counter, and Zidane made a superb run up the left flank, hurdling a defender before unleashing a 15-yard right-footed shot that flew left of the near post. Croatia’s last opportunity came deep into stoppage time, when Goran Vlaovic’s deflected shot went high into the air and forced an excellent save from Barthez. The French defense cleared away the ensuing corner and the whistle blew to end the match. France advances to meet Brazil for the championship on July 12. This is the farthest any French team has ever advanced in a World Cup. The French must play the final without Blanc, who will sit out the match with a mandatory red-card suspension. Blanc is a force for France in central defense, and also can be dangerous at the offensive end — he scored France’s golden-goal winner against Paraguay in the Round of 16. Croatia meets the Netherlands in the third-place match July 11. A France-Croatia game summary will be posted shortly.