Group G France v Togo: When French ace Zinedine Zidane picked up the second yellow card against South Korea that ruled him out of tonight's game with Togo, there were those who immediately suggested this might be no bad thing for France.
The French need younger legs and keener appetites, goes the reasoning. Or perhaps they just need a coach with whom the team "senators" see eye to eye.
What is sure is that the peerless "Zizou", one of the great players of the last decade, is the symbol of a once great, now seemingly disinterested French team. Like Zidane the player, France the team has thus far looked a poor imitation of itself.
The point has not been lost on the Togo players with striker Mohammed Kadir saying this week: "It is always special when any African team plays France. Motivation springs from that alone. France has good players but they are not a team." Not, mind you, that Togo have been having an easy time themselves, on their World Cup debut. They went from a player pay dispute to the resignation/non-resignation of their German coach Otto Pfister and at one stage even threatened not to play their second group game against Switzerland. Hardly surprisingly in the circumstances, Togo have lost both their matches here. Against France, they are playing for pride and reputation.
Togo would dearly love to leave a positive mark on the tournament before heading home while France must beat Togo by two clear goals to make sure they advance to the last 16.
Franck Ribery will likely step in for Zidane alongside Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele and Florent Malouda in the French midfield with Mikael Silvestre replacing suspended left back Eric Abadal. Coach Raymond Domenech may bring in Louis Saha or David Trezeguet alongside Thierry Henry. Togo will be strengthened by the return of their captain and influential central defender, Jean-Paul Abalo. Despite his return, France to win.
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay) Kick-off: 8.0pm Venue: Stadion Köln, Cologne On TV: RTE 2, BBC 1
Probable line-ups
Togo (4-4-2) Agassa; Nibombe, Abalo, Tchangai, Agboh; Dossevi, Mamam, Aziawanou, Forson; Kader, Adebayor
France (4-4-2)
Barthez; Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Silvestre; Ribery, Vieira, Makelele, Malouda; Trezeguet, Henry
