Fortune favours Les Bleus

Feeling confident
The French players felt that fortune deserted them during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but the manner of their triumph over England has left Pires thinking this could be their year. "The way the game went makes me think that maybe our luck is returning," the Arsenal FC player said on Tuesday.

Caution required
Pires is taking nothing for granted ahead of Thursday's match against Croatia, though. "Unfortunately all the teams know how we play so our last two group games are going to be difficult. We have to adopt a certain caution."

'Huge feeling'
Claude Makelele remains a doubt after picking up a shoulder injury, with Olivier Dacourt on standby. The AS Roma midfield player replaced Makelele in the last minute against England and was delighted to have taken part in such an occasion. "The atmosphere was incredible," he said. "It was not the same as if we had won [UEFA] EURO 2004™ but it was a huge feeling for all of us."

More wanted
Defender Lilian Thuram, meanwhile, urged his team-mates to keep their feet on the ground. "It's a fantastic start for us but we have to make sure that this is not the last beautiful experience we enjoy in Portugal," he explained.

Practice match
The players who did not start the England match played a friendly against Portuguese second division side Desportivo Das Aves on Monday, winning 4-0 with two goals from Louis Saha, one from Sylvain Wiltord and a Steve Marlet penalty. Captain Marcel Desailly, who missed the Estádio da Luz action through injury, also took part.