MUNICH, Germany -- The turnaround is complete.

After struggling simply to get through the group stage, France is in the World Cup final for the second time in three tournaments.

"We had a lot of difficulty at the start, but it made us stronger as we knew how to deal with pressure," midfielder Florent Malouda said after Les Bleus beat Portugal 1-0 on Wednesday night. "Either you win, either you go home."

France found a way to keep winning, and now plays Italy on Sunday in Berlin. Les Bleus will be trying for their second title, winning their first on home turf in 1998 with a 3-0 win over Brazil.

"Now that we are here, after all the effort we have made, we will try and bring it home," Zinedine Zidane said. "It won't be easy, it will be hard, but we have the weapons to do it and we have the will to do it."

France got off to a discouraging start in the group stage, and the possibility of going out in the first round for a second straight World Cup was not out of the question.

First there was a sluggish performance in a 0-0 draw against Switzerland. Then came another lackluster performance against South Korea. Thierry Henry finally ended France's scoring drought at the World Cup, which dated back to the 1998 final, but the match ended in a 1-1 tie after South Korea equalized in the 81st.

In danger of another early exit, France finally came through against lightly regarded Togo, winning 2-0 with goals from Patrick Vieira and Henry. And Les Bleus have been on a roll ever since.

They rallied to beat Spain 3-1 with a convincing second-round performance, and played a brilliant match to eliminate five-time champion Brazil 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Outplaying the defending champions from the start, France picked up a 1-0 win after Zidane set up Henry for a second-half winner.

Wednesday's win may be just as great a victory for France as the one against Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Zidane converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minute after Henry was tripped in the box by Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho. Zidane, who came out of international retirement to help France qualify for this year's tournament, found the net with a low right-footed shot past goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.

Zidane also was crucial in France's victory over Spain in the second round. The France captain set up a goal by Vieira, then scored one himself late in the match.

"He didn't want to finish on a low note after his substitution against South Korea," French soccer federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said. "He came back, he beat Spain, then Brazil and now Portugal."

Having World Cup winners such as Zidane, Henry and Vieira on the team was crucial to the turnaround, coach Raymond Domenech said.

"It is an advantage having this experience, having players who know what it takes to go to the end," Domenech said.

And now they have one more game.

"We let ourselves go in the dressing room," Malouda said. "Then we thought we must be serious and prepare for Italy."

Portugal was trying to reach its first World Cup final. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's team eased through a first-round group including Angola, Iran and Mexico, then got past the Netherlands and 1966 champion England before falling to France.

While Portugal heads to Stuttgart for Saturday's third-place playoff against Germany, France is preparing to meet Italy.

With the Italians having beaten Germany 2-0 on Tuesday on two goals in the final moments of extra time, France knows it will need all its experience and concentration for the final.

"Italy is a team which waits and waits," Henry said. "They send you to sleep and then they score two goal in the last two minutes."