SOCCER/Republic of Ireland - 0 France - 1: After a year of Raymond Domenech-inspired revolution failed to produce a new order capable of immediately matching the achievements of the old, Zinedine Zidane's Ancien Regime reasserted itself last night at Lansdowne Road.

All of their recently restored royalty were involved in the goal that decided the game and set France on an overdue course for next summer's World Cup finals in Germany.

Few, other than Thierry Henry, could have provided such an agonisingly sweet finish though, with the gifted Arsenal striker leaving Shay Given grasping at thin air with a curling, 25-yard shot 22 minutes from time.

For the Irish it was a cruel end to a close and largely compelling contest. The home side sought to take the game to their opponents from the first whistle.

Their efforts were generally hard to fault, and several of the locals, notably Roy Keane, produced performances that ranked among their best in a green shirt.

On a night, however, when key French players provided ample evidence of their class, even that simply wasn't enough.

For long spells Brian Kerr's side matched their opponents for courage and commitment, but over the course of the second half, in particular, they were edged out by the class and composure of visitors who allowed them just one shot on target during the last 45 minutes and never seemed likely to concede an equaliser.

The opening stages, like most of what was to follow, were fast and occasionally furious. Perhaps they'd each seen enough in the videos beforehand to know what to expect, for there was little sizing up between the sides.

The French swiftly set about demonstrating the variety of way in which they could trouble their hosts, and the Irish, for their part, let their opponents know in no uncertain terms that on home turf they were not about to lie down.

That Roy Keane would once again be a key figure for the Irish was apparent too even from those opening minutes, with the Corkman providing an early measure of his authority as he coolly arrived to win possession from Sylvain Wiltord and tidy up as the former Arsenal player looked set to unleash the first shot of the game.

France fractionally edged it over the minutes that followed, and when Richard Dunne fouled Henry just outside the area they were handed the first real chance of the game. Zidane stepped up to take the free and, though it was a good one, Shay Given's save high to his right was superb.

The visitors, as expected, left Henry to battle alone up front. There was no attempt to man-mark the 28-year-old but he, like Zidane, Wiltord and Vikash Dhorasoo, were promptly closed down every time they sought to take possession within striking range of goal, and so Given passed the rest of the half without being seriously extended.

In midfield, the visiting side looked to play the more patient football, but there were only a couple of prolonged periods of possession. Instead, both sides sought to move the ball quickly from back to front, leading to a handful of decent chances at either end but a good many misplaced balls too.

As it had been in Paris, the Irish work-rate was tremendous. Beside Keane, Kevin Kilbane tirelessly sought to drive the team forward but repeatedly found Patrick Vieira blocking his way.

Out wide there were mixed fortunes for Andy Reid and Damien Duff, with the latter linking up smartly with John O'Shea to generate one of the Republic's best chances early on. The Chelsea winger eventually sent in a low cross which Clinton Morrison left for Robbie Keane, whose 15-yards shot was deflected wide.

The crowd had come closer to having something to celebrate not long before when Morrison was brought down just outside the box, and Reid's free clattered the left post with Gregory Coupet some distance away.

They almost raised the roof too when Lillian Thuram tried to compensate for surrendering the ball with a sloppy pass from inside his own area by launching a risky challenge on Robbie Keane, but the striker's fall was delayed a moment and the German referee had no hesitation in waving play on.

It was enthralling stuff with Ireland exuding a good deal of confidence even against a French side that had clearly come determined to make up for lost opportunities earlier in this campaign.

There were setbacks along the way too, however, with Morrison, Roy Keane and Reid picking up bookings before the break that will keep them out of the Cyprus game.

That there will be no room for error without them next month was then confirmed midway through the second period with Henry's goal, which followed a slight but steady tightening of France's influence on the game and a gradual but almost complete smothering of Ireland's previous lively attacking play.

It came almost out of nothing. Coupet's initial kick-out was cleared back to Zidane, but a quick sequence of passes involving Thuram and William Gallas then ended with Claude Makelele finding Wiltord 30 metres out with Henry close by.

Cunningham, who, like Dunne, had been solidly impressive all night, sought to get in the challenge but couldn't make contact, and after the Arsenal striker came away with the ball he found Given's top right corner with a beautifully curling strike.

Kerr sent on fresh legs late on in the form of Gary Doherty and Ian Harte, but with the options available there was little he could have done to turn the tide of a game that, like his hopes of guiding this team to next summer's finals, was slipping out of his grasp.

IRELAND: Given (Newcastle United); Carr (Newcastle United), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Dunne (Manchester City), O'Shea (Manchester United); Duff (Chelsea), Keane (Manchester United), Kilbane (Everton), Reid (Tottenham Hotspur); Morrison (Crystal Palace), Keane (Tottenham Hotspur). Subs: Harte (Levante) and Doherty (Norwich City) for Morrison and (Kilbane 80 mins).

FRANCE: Coupet (Lyon); Sagnol (Bayern Munich), Thuram (Juventus), Boumsong (Newcastle United), Gallas (Chelsea); Makelele (Chelsea), Vieira (Juventus); Wiltord (Lyon), Zidane (Real Madrid), Dhorasoo (PSG); Henry (Arsenal). Subs: Malouda (Lyon) for Zidane (70 mins), Cisse (Liverpool) for Henry (76 mins), Givet (Monaco) for Sagnol (90 mins).

Referee: H Fandel (Ger).