Emmet Malone believes the return to form of Patrick Vieira has given the French real hope of revisiting past glories

Having won the double with Arsenal and the World Cup with France, Emmanuel Petit must have headed off on his family holiday in the summer of 1998 believing life simply couldn't get any better. When your luck is in, though, there's simply no telling what lies around the corner, and in the French midfielder's case a €25,000 win on a slot machine a few days after his nation's unforgettable success at the Stade de France provided the icing on what was a very substantial cake.

Since then Petit, like the bulk of that great French side, has slipped quietly into retirement but the links between the team of 1998 and the one that will take part in this evening's rerun of that summer's World Cup final remain strong, with four of the starting line-up in Frankfurt carrying first-hand memories of how the Brazilians were beaten on that unforgettable night in Paris.

Most fortunate to feature at the Stade de France was a 22-year-old Patrick Vieira, already established at Highbury as Petit's partner in the Arsenal midfield but not yet even close to being an automatic choice in his national side.

With France leading a hopelessly out-of-sorts Brazil thanks to two goals from Zinedine Zidane, Aime Jacquet was about to bring on Thierry Henry with the intention of killing the South Americans off. Suddenly, though, Marcel Desailly was dismissed for a late challenge on Cafu, and more caution was required. Vieira was told to strip off, and a quarter of an hour later he capped his cameo appearance by playing a hand in the Petit goal that put the outcome beyond doubt.

Eight years on and the Juventus midfielder is, along with Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Fabien Barthez, one of those four French players to have featured that night now set to take the field this evening.

The fortunes of the two sides have each shifted dramatically during the intervening years; Brazil triumphed in Japan while the French were dispatched from South Korea in what Michel Platini described as "shameful fashion".

For a while here in Germany it seemed their humiliation was about to be compounded. Draws against Switzerland and South Korea meant they no longer retained control over their own fate when it came to the third round of group games.

What they knew they had to do was beat Togo by two goals to have a real chance of progressing. When they achieved the target it was on the back of a superb second-half display from a resurgent Vieira, who scored one goal and made the other.

It was a timely reminder of his once-universally-accepted greatness from a man written off by so many observers since his move from London to Turin last summer.

Having started the season strongly and helped Juve to establish a runaway lead at the top of Serie A, he seemed to lose form. A groin strain troubled him from around Christmas on, and by the time his new club came up against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League he was entirely incapable of asserting himself when confronted by his youthful replacement at Highbury, Cesc Fabregas.

The Spaniard won their confrontation hands down and Vieira probably avoided further embarrassment by missing the second leg through suspension. Those who had questioned the wisdom of Arsene Wenger's decision to sell the French midfielder hailed him once more as a genius.

Against Togo, though, the old Vieira was there for all to see and his former manager was quick to pay tribute to the now 30-year-old's hugely influential performance. "He was immense," observed the Arsenal manager, "the decisive player. He has been France's most important player in the tournament so far and he has shown that great players do not die as quickly as people think they do."

The view was echoed by Henry, who heaped praise upon his team-mate and dismissed those who had written him off without knowing about his injury.

"People gave a lot of stick to Patrick this year without knowing but he played with a lot of pain in his groin all season," he said. "And Patrick won't say it, he is not a kind of guy who cries. Here Pat has been extraordinary. He has been getting better with each match."

That he was better again when France met Spain is beyond doubt. This time, with Zidane back from suspension, the burden he carried was not so great but again he was at the heart of everything good his side did.

The French skipper set up his second-half goal with a curling free kick from midfield, but the 30-year-old's performance overshadowed that of his friend as he this time succeeded in making Fabregas look a distant second best and played a key part in getting the best out of previously peripheral figures like Florent Malouda and, particularly, Franck Ribery.

The dynamic and hugely energetic performance has helped to generate optimism on a grand scale back at home while restoring pride to team members here in Germany. Vieira had previously admitted here that he and other players, "carry so much pressure on our shoulders", but its nature has at least now been transformed. No longer is there the fear of disaster, only the tantalising hope the team might reacquaint itself with triumph.

It would be an unlikely success but there would be no shame in losing to a Brazil side that might well go on to retain their title in Berlin next weekend, and knowing that, France will be liberated to play more freely.

If Vieira continues to improve and those around him play as they did late on against the Spanish then anything seems possible.

And if, somehow, there's a fairytale ending to follow the Italian League title he won this year, then, when he finally gets in a holiday, Vieira should perhaps keep his eyes peeled for those high-stakes fruit machines.