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France aiming for flying start in Confed Cup

LYON, France (Reuters) -- France will begin the defense of its Confederations Cup title against Colombia on Wednesday determined not to repeat the mistakes of the last World Cup.

France's failure to negotiate its opening match of the tournament in South Korea and Japan, losing 1-0 to the unfancied Senegal, heralded the start of a debacle which ended with a shock group stage exit for the holder.

Wednesday's game in Group A of the eight-nation tournament at the Stade Gerland should be a comfortable victory for the host nation, supported by the fans who carried it to World Cup success five years ago.

Colombia, the Copa America winner in 2001, has kept a clean sheet in its last three matches, thanks to a defense marshalled by Ivan Cordoba and Mario Yepes.

But a France attack led by Thierry Henry and backed by Arsenal teammates Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord will be a very different proposition for the South Americans.

Of particular interest to France coach Jacques Santini will be the performance of a re-shuffled midfield, given the absences of Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele and Emmanuel Petit due to either club commitments or injury.

Pires, an attacking left winger at club level, could be given a defensive role in central midfield -- a position he has occupied before for France -- alongside Benoit Pedretti.

At the back, Chelsea teammates Marcel Desailly and William Gallas will form the central pairing, flanked by Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram.

Yet France, who will also meet Japan and New Zealand in the group stage, are aware of the need to work hard for a victory on Wednesday.

"We know the kind of game the South Americans play and it's not one we've always found easy to cope with," Henry told reporters.

France needed a 'Golden Goal' to see off Paraguay at the 1998 World Cup and could only draw 0-0 with Uruguay four years later -- having lost a friendly to Chile in between.

However, France is determined to re-establish itself on the world stage, as it prepares for another, more important, defense of a trophy -- its European crown.

"We have to be clear about our target in this competition," Pires told L'Equipe on Tuesday. "We are here to prepare in the best way possible for Euro 2004.

"And the best way to prepare is to win it."

 

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