Raymond Domenech will continue as France coach until 2010, French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said today.

All but one of the FFF council's 20 members voted in favour of Domenech staying, said Escalettes.

The same council decided in July that Domenech would stay in charge despite France's group stage elimination from Euro 2008 but the coach had then been told he needed to improve results.

The 56-year-old, who has had a difficult relationship with some of his players and the media, appeared in danger of being sacked after France started their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup with a shock 3-1 defeat in Austria.

France then defeated Serbia 2-1 at home and fought back from two goals down for a 2-2 draw in Romania before convincingly beating Tunisia 3-1 in a friendly at Stade de France on Tuesday.

The World Cup runners-up, who are fourth in Group Seven two points behind leaders Serbia and Lithuania after three games, face a struggle to qualify for the finals in South Africa.
 
France still need to solve the defensive problems that led to them conceding seven goals in their last four outings.

There has been some improvement in form lately, however, and Domenech, who was criticised by Escalettes for communicating poorly with the media, has kept a low profile recently.

The coach also received the backing of leading members of the team, including record goalscorer Thierry Henry, the captain in the absence of the injured Patrick Vieira.

"Something has happened and it would be criminal to change (the coach) now that we're on the right track," Escalettes said today.

"We believe that an important step has been taken towards rebuilding the team. Now Raymond must be left in peace.

"There is work to be done, notably in defence, but the players showed that they could play with enthusiasm and that's what we expected from them," he added.

Escalettes then left the FFF headquarters for the Elysee Palace, where French president Nicolas Sarkozy summoned him to talk about the atmosphere at the friendly against Tunisia.

The crowd clearly favoured the visitors with fans from the country's large Tunisian population packing the Stade de France.

The French anthem was booed, as was Domenech's name when it was announced by the speaker before the game, and the France players were jeered every time they had the ball.