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France gears up to take on Cyprus in Euro qualifier
Paris, Sept 09: The French soccer team have been training ahead of Sunday`s qualifying match against Cyprus.
Paris, Sept 09: The French soccer team have been training ahead of Sunday's qualifying match against Cyprus.
The French soccer team trained on Thursday for the next critical phase in the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign. A total of 40 internationals on Saturday and Wednesday will help determine which 15 teams will have their place in the finals alongside hosts Portugal next summer.
France's next match will be a Group One game against Cyprus, and the team will have to play without playmaker Zinedine Zidane, who has an injury to his left thigh. "I underwent some tests and apparently there only some small damage to some fibres," he said. "Nothing too serious, I think I will two or three days to recover from this injury. Concerning your question as to whether I will play Sunday, I think that would mean putting the next game at risk. I must not try to recover to fast, and rather get really well in shape for the second game."
Zidane was substituted in the first half after straining a thigh muscle during Real Madrid's 1-1 draw at Villareal in a Spanish league match on Tuesday. France coach Jacques Santini has resigned himself to losing Zidane and has a number of options for the playmaking role.
Even without him, France is expected to win easily and Zidane hopes to be fit for Wednesday's match against Slovenia. Zidane sustained the same injury just before the start of last year's World Cup, tearing a muscle in his left thigh during a warm-up game against South Korea. The injury forced him to miss France's opening two games at the finals, returning only for the final group game against Denmark in which a 2-0 defeat condemned the defending champions to an early exit from the tournament.
France lead Euro 2002 Group One with a maximum of 15 points from five matches and can become the first team to qualify for next year's finals if they beat Cyprus and Israel draw or win in Slovenia.
Bureau Report
France's next match will be a Group One game against Cyprus, and the team will have to play without playmaker Zinedine Zidane, who has an injury to his left thigh. "I underwent some tests and apparently there only some small damage to some fibres," he said. "Nothing too serious, I think I will two or three days to recover from this injury. Concerning your question as to whether I will play Sunday, I think that would mean putting the next game at risk. I must not try to recover to fast, and rather get really well in shape for the second game."
Zidane was substituted in the first half after straining a thigh muscle during Real Madrid's 1-1 draw at Villareal in a Spanish league match on Tuesday. France coach Jacques Santini has resigned himself to losing Zidane and has a number of options for the playmaking role.
Even without him, France is expected to win easily and Zidane hopes to be fit for Wednesday's match against Slovenia. Zidane sustained the same injury just before the start of last year's World Cup, tearing a muscle in his left thigh during a warm-up game against South Korea. The injury forced him to miss France's opening two games at the finals, returning only for the final group game against Denmark in which a 2-0 defeat condemned the defending champions to an early exit from the tournament.
France lead Euro 2002 Group One with a maximum of 15 points from five matches and can become the first team to qualify for next year's finals if they beat Cyprus and Israel draw or win in Slovenia.
Bureau Report