Thuram a major doubt

Soccer/ Republic of Ireland v France: Lillian Thuram and Djibril Cisse will travel to Dublin this afternoon with the rest of the French squad but the Juventus defender Thuram remains a major doubt for tomorrow's game with a dead leg while the Liverpool striker is expected to be dropped for tactical reasons even if he recovers from the ankle injury he sustained in Saturday night's 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands.

The mood in France, however, remains distinctly positive ahead of tomorrow's match with belief in the team dramatically restored by the return of Zinedine Zidane whose performance in Lens at the weekend did much, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, to justify the very considerable hype.

"He was very sharp last Saturday," says Wenger. "For me his comeback has transformed the team and the hope in the country. You could see against the Faroes when Zidane left the game (58 minutes in) we were not the same team. It's a characteristic of the big players that they make everybody (play) better and Zidane is just at the age when he has that quality. He still has the skill plus that generous attitude that comes with maturity to make those around you perform better."

Wenger has worked with many of this French squad at some point over the years but he admits to some lingering uncertainty as to whether they can make up for the failings of the past year during the weeks ahead by securing the results they need to progress.

"It (the Ireland game) will be a chance to see whether France are back to the level where they can be a very dangerous side," he says. "We saw in the second half (against the Faroes) they had a restricted game and I think Wednesday will be for France a test game to show where they are on the international stage.

"An away game, World Cup qualification at stake, this game is so big in the heads of French players that against the Faroes in the second half they stopped playing."

The return of the old hands has, he feels, the potential to transform the side with Zidane and Claude Makelele restoring the team's self-belief. "They have brought back a confidence when France have the ball. There is more serenity in the team," he says "Their presence means we can keep the ball a second longer and when they have the ball they keep it well, allowing players to move out from the back. The overall technical level of the team has suddenly gone up."

To win, he believes, the French need Thierry Henry - likely to be playing as a lone striker with Sylvain Wiltord and Zidane lending support from side positions - to be at his best and the defence to cope a good deal better than they did on Saturday.

"We'll need a good Zidane and Thierry Henry because they make the difference up front while to win the battle in the middle of the park Makelele will be vital. But France must also dominate more in the air than they did against the Faroes. On crosses we struggled a little bit."

Makelele makes the point the French no longer have the luxury of worrying about the quality of their performances. "The question is not whether we play well or play badly," says the Chelsea midfielder. "It's to play to win."

With their inspirational skipper back, Makelele, like everybody else it seems, believes for the French anything, including a victory tomorrow night, is possible. "Zidane is the team's maestro," he says. "With him, you can adapt your strategy during a match. Everybody needs a guy like him on his side. Now, when I get the ball what I do first is look for him to pass it . . . Winning in Ireland is perfectly possible, even if we will probably suffer for 90 minutes. I am confident we can do it."