Former champions France go into their opening World Cup game against Uruguay in Cape Town on Friday battling a salvo of criticism, with nothing but victory enough to satisfy the sceptics.
Raymond Domenech’s team have been in underwhelming form, losing 0-1 to China in a warm-up match last week, which followed a 2-1 win over Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Tunisia. Since arriving in South Africa, they have adopted a siege-like mentality and trained mostly behind closed doors.
This has not gone down well with an irate French media, while Sports Minister Rama Yade caused a stir when she said the team should have shown some “decency” during hard economic times by not choosing such swanky accommodation.
Domenech, who is disliked in France will be replaced by former skipper Laurent Blanc after the tournament. — AFP