The headline in Sunday's edition of L'Equipe summed up the feeling in the French camp following Les Bleus' routine 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands. Vite vers Dublin (Quickly towards Dublin) it read, and, while Raymond Domenech's team were drawing some satisfaction from their third victory of a troubled World Cup campaign, their attentions had turned completely towards Lansdowne Road by the time they left the Stade Félix-Bollaert on Saturday night.

Djibril Cisse has done his chances of starting Wednesday's crucial Group Four qualifier no harm by scoring twice and having a big hand in the other goal, but France squandered a host of chances and Domenech is demanding more efficiency from his players in Dublin.

"The fact we created so many openings is encouraging," said the coach. "But we missed far too many. Hopefully the players were saving up some goals for Ireland."

Thierry Henry was the most culpable, failing to convert any of his three one-on-ones with the Faroese goalkeeper.

The Arsenal striker looked none too pleased with Domenech's decision to substitute him midway through the second half, and he admitted: "I was a bit annoyed. Not because I hadn't scored but simply because I like playing and I don't like going off."

France's instrumental captain Zinedine Zidane, who, like Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele, made his first competitive appearance since coming out of international retirement, was also hauled off in the second half after receiving a blow to the back of his leg.

"The game looked safe and I didn't want to take any risks with Zizou," Domenech said. "We'll need him in peak condition in Ireland."

There is no doubt that Zidane will start against Brian Kerr's men, almost certainly lining up behind two strikers. "That's my position now," he said. "When there are two men in front of me I don't have to do so much on my own, and at my age this is important."

The majority of France's attacks were instigated by the Real Madrid player, but Zidane knows he will not be afforded so much time on Wednesday. "The biggest problem in Dublin will be finding space," said the three-times world player of the year. "If we can get some good midfield possession, the important thing will be to release the ball early because we have some fast players up front who can make the difference."

After an enterprising first-half performance, France lacked coherency in the second period and squandered possession far too easily. Suggestions that they may have a Zidane dependency problem were given credence by right-back Willy Sagnol who was highly critical of his team-mates.

"As soon as Zidane went off, we fell back into the confusion that reigned before he returned to the side," said the Bayern Munich defender. "We enjoyed some pressure at the start, but apart from that there's nothing to say and nothing positive to take away.

"We played too predictably, and our defensive positioning was bad. That tired us out and it's the last thing we wanted before Wednesday. Everyone was looking to do their own thing and that's not going to get us very far."

Typically forthright in his comments, Sagnol, who is likely to be up against Damien Duff in two days' time, admitted he is not especially confident of claiming the three points. "I'm more optimistic than I would've been a few months ago, but I'm still wary of this game," he said.

"It's not that I'm scared and I certainly don't doubt our quality as individuals, but winning games at this level is not the same as winning games with your club."

Sagnol will hope to have the experienced Lilian Thuram alongside him in defence. For the second international in a row, the Juventus stopper was forced off the pitch with an injury, although Domenech said on Sunday that he should shake off the thigh problem in time to partner Jean-Alain Boumsong in central defence.

Meanwhile, Domenech is set to keep faith with the Lyon winger Florent Malouda after starting him in the last four internationals. Malouda's tireless closing down and direct running alongside Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira gave France's three-man midfield extra solidity and flexibility. "I really want to play in Dublin," said Malouda, who was singled out for praise by Zidane on Saturday.

"I'm ready for the battle and, like everyone, I'm thinking a huge amount about the Ireland game now. It's going to be a turning point in our qualification campaign."

Despite so much being on the line, however, Domenech said there was no question of France playing for a draw. "I don't want to be making calculations on Wednesday night," he explained. "I know that if we win our remaining three matches we will qualify and that's what we must strive to do."