Costly win

France struggles but overcomes upstart Faroe Islands squad

TORSHAVN (Reuters) -- France saw skipper Patrick Vieira sent off in a lackluster 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands in a World Cup Group Four qualifier on Wednesday.

Although it won with goals from midfielder Ludovic Giuly and substitute striker Djibril Cisse -- who replaced the injured Louis Saha after only nine minutes -- the victory was marred by Vieira's 56th minute dismissal for a second yellow card for diving.

It was Les Bleus first victory in their last four outings and though it was a poor showing from the former world champions, at least they took all three points.

After the 0-0 home draw with Israel at the weekend, the match against the Faroes confirmed that this qualifying round will be much trickier than it looked on paper.

The task was made harder when Vieira was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 56th minute.

Scottish referee Craig Thomson decided the Arsenal midfielder had dived into the penalty area and the red card means Vieira will be suspended for France's next match against Ireland at the Stade de France next month.

It is the first time Vieira has been red-carded for France, although he has been sent off nine times for Arsenal since 1998.

FRAIL DEFENSE

France, lacking in imagination and organization since Zinedine Zidane retired, often looked clumsy and was dominated by a hard-working Faroes side for the first 20 minutes.

The Islanders even put the frail French defense under pressure with some swift counterattacks.

France's cause wasn't helped when striker Saha limped off in the ninth minute with a right knee injury and was replaced by Cisse.

Raymond Domenech's team had to wait for half-an-hour before breaking through a solid backline when Giuly scored on the rebound after goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen saved from Robert Pires.

Thierry Henry came close to putting his side 2-0 up when he headed the ball against the post five minutes before half-time.

The Faroese players, backed by 6,000 cheering fans squandered a good chance to score through Rogvi Jacobsen in the second half before Giuly crossed for Cisse, who was alone in the box, to score.

France were more at ease after the second goal but the hosts continued to pressure until the final whistle.

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