Nicolas Anelka and Sidney Govou have both been almost anonymous so far in South Africa, while Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has looked decent this past season for his club Toulouse playing as a central striker, somehow finds himself playing everywhere in the France frontline except as a central striker.

There's no Karim Benzema to give coach Raymond Domenech extra goalscoring options, no Samir Nasri to add creativity and flair, and certainly no Zinedine Zidane.

Yoann Gourcuff could be the answer that France are looking for, but he is unlikely to start in the final group game against South Africa because Domenech is Domenech.

Speaking of which, Dom didn't look like he cared too much when his troops were trying to labour from 2-0 down. But there's little reason for him to care. Nobody seems to like him anyway, he will go back home to a royal grilling from fans and critics alike, but he'll soon be off to his holidays as he steps down from his coaching role after the 2010 World Cup.

France may not need saving anyway. Regardless of what result they produce against Bafana Bafana, Mexico and Uruguay will both advance to the knockout stage if they can play out a draw.

But if France need saving, the only man who can save them is Domenech. Good luck, Les Bleus.