Uncertainty and disharmony is nothing new for the French team. Even when Les Bleus won the competition for the first time in 1998, they were racked by uncertainty and self-doubt. "Truth be told," Zinedine Zidane, the great French playmaker, said, "we never thought we'd win the World Cup. We had a very bad training session before the first game."
France's opponent that day in Marseille were South Africa, whom they meet tonight in Bloemfontein. "The pressure was intense," Emmanuel Petit, recalled "We travelled to the game in silence. I could see some players sweating on the bus before we arrived at the stadium." In Aime Jacquet, however, France had a coach with unparalleled self-belief. "I find it unbelievable how he anticipated France's victory in such a huge competition," Marcel Desailly said. "It built our confidence up to see that he was himself so confident. It made us more positive and helped realise our abilities."
Now, France have Raymond Domenech and as every French international will affirm, he is no Jacquet. Domenech was booed as France laboured through qualifying in front of half-empty stadiums. He is reviled by a notoriously fickle public who were not unreasonable to demand better. The French Football Federation (FFF) closed ranks behind Domenech, although he went into the World Cup knowing that he would be replaced by Laurent Blanc, the former France defender, after the competition. The circumstances were unusual, but France limped on.
Domenech's stock has plummeted further over the past 10 days, with France the possessors of a solitary point from two games and standing on the brink of exit and ignominy. A 2-0 defeat to Mexico on Thursday drew a furious reaction from public and players alike. Nicolas Anelka, the striker, has been sent home after a stand-up row with Domenech for which he refused to apologise. Despite his often sullied reputation, Anelka is far more popular with his teammates than the likes of Yoann Gourcuff, the Bordeaux schemer.
The situation escalated from one striker on the plane home to the whole squad turning into strikers. Two days after tears were seen streaming down his face during the French national anthem, Patrice Evra, the captain, had a heated exchange on Sunday with a fitness coach which resulted in the coach throwing his accreditation to the ground and the players refusing to train. They returned yesterday, with no sponsors names on their tops.
France are in meltdown. There is no instant solution. The president of the FFF apologised to the country for the conduct of the players. The players think they have nothing to apologise for, that the blame lies with the tactical mistakes of Domenech, who has few allies. The players are divided though, with suspicions of a "traitor" in the camp who is leaking stories to the media and released a statement saying: "If we regret the incident that occurred at half-time of the match between France and Mexico we regret even more that an event which belongs within our group was made public."
Yesterday, Evra failed to appear by Domenech's side for the pre-match press conference and the coach hinted that their could be wholesale changes to his team. He was even more candid about what he thought of his players' striking, saying he tried to convince them that what they were doing "was an aberration, an imbecility, a stupidity without name". France remain favourites to beat a South Africa side who also need to win to stand any hope of progressing to the second phase. Yet a draw between Uruguay and Mexico will render any victory useless and eliminate both teams.
Carlos Alberto Parreira, the South Africa coach, does not expect the turmoil in the France squad to affect their performance. "When the French players enter the pitch they know it is important to win ? and what happens outside of the pitch will not affect France's performance," Parreira said yesterday. "[France's problems] should not be considered by us as a positive aspect. "There is a saying in Spanish: to talk about a bullfight is one thing, to be in the arena is another. So I'm not there, and you have to be there to know what to do," he added, talking about what he would do in Domenech's place. The French players intend to perform at their best to "ensure that France regains its honour". With widespread anger in France, it is likely to take a lot more than victory over South Africa for that to happen. sports@thenational.ae
Uruguay (4 points, +3 goal difference) If Uruguay beat or draw with Mexico, they will top the group. If they lose and there is a winner between France and South Africa, it will come down to goal difference for second place. Mexico (4 points, +2 goals) If Mexico beat Uruguay, they will win Group A. If they draw with Uruguay, they will finish second. If Mexico lose, and there is a winner between France and South Africa, it will come to goal difference. France (1 point, -2 goals) France must beat South Africa and hope there is a winner between Uruguay and Mexico in the other game. Then it will come down to goal difference with the loser of that match. South Africa (1 point, -3 goals) South Africa must beat France and also hope there is a winner between Uruguay and Mexico. This would give them a chance on making the last 16 on goal difference.
