French reaction:With the air of a man who is all too aware that calamity lurks just around the corner, France manager Raymond Domenech refused to get carried away following tonight's 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland.

The 1998 world champions may have dominated the second half at a packed Croke Park before silencing the home crowd when Nicolas Anelka's 71st minute shot spun cruelly in off defender Sean St. Ledger and then the post.

But Domenech will wait until after Wednesday’s return leg before cracking open the champagne.

"I feel we are only halfway through. The objective is to qualify," Domenech told reporters.

"There are 180 minutes. Ninety to go. The Irish played very well and are very much able to react so we must be vigilant."

France forward Thierry Henry refused to celebrate his side's win too much, instead also choosing to focus on the return leg.

"We have seen the Irish are a difficult team to beat and they didn't lose a game in the whole qualifying so what we did today is nice," he said.

"There are still 90 minutes to go so it will be a tough game for us in Paris. "We wanted to play in the first half but you have to give the Irish team credit, they didn't give us any room to play our game.

"You can always improve and hopefully the crowd in Paris can be like the crowd the Irish had tonight."