France out for revenge

EVERY mention has its matches it prefers to forget but in recent times nothing brings out the mental scars in a Frenchman more than a World Cup qualifier with Bulgaria 21/2 years ago.

France merely had to draw in Paris to ensure their participation in the 1994 finals and at 1-1 with a corner in their favour and the" match approaching injury time a place in the United States seemed assured. Then David Ginola squandered possession, Bulgaria raced to the other end and Emil Kostadin scored.

Bulgaria went on to finish fourth in the US while a French team that included Cantona and Papin fumed with frustration at home. "I'm still scarred by that memory," Laurent Blaac, the French central defender, said and he is not alone.

It is with twin edge anticipation of revenge and fear, therefore, that France will seek to extend their 25 match unbeaten run at St James's Park tonight. If one side wins like the Spanish beat Romania at Elland Road then the loser will be going home.

Group B has been tight as a drum so far but if any side has suggested it has more to offer it is France whose elegant play, particularly from Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaefi, has been undermined by an over eagerness to concentrate on defence once they have taken the lead.

Bulgana, meanwhile, are less subtle but boast the blazing and temperamental talent of Hristo Stoichkov, whose two goals in the tournament has taken hips international record to 33 in 63 games

However, he may find opportunities more scarce without Kostadinov, who has only a 50-50 chance of recovering from a hamstring strain.

Still the Parma striker was on target yesterday at a press conference when he walked out on Spanish journalists because of their "completely silly questions" and then insisted a Romanian was rejected. "It was not my pleasure to speak to him," he explained. "I will only speak to people who tell the truth. An angry Stoichkov is the last thing the French need.

A draw will probably be enough, for the French whose qualification record in the last two European Championships and 1994 World Cup is slightly better than Bulgaria's should that come into play but Aime Jacquet will not be tempted down that route. "Look what happened last time," he warned.