This time manager Raymond Domenech may listen to his critics and restore Florent Malouda to a side that looked toothless in grinding out a goalless draw against Uruguay in Cape Town. The Chelsea midfielder should at least improve on the woeful service to Nicolas Anelka that so undermined them at Green Point. Defensively, William Gallas has missed training with a slight injury, although Domenech is confident he will take his place alongside Eric Abidal.

Unlike the French, this will not be the most high-pressure game Mexico will have faced in South Africa. Nothing, surely, will match the intensity of the opening match of the World Cup, which they responded to very well. However, Javier Aguirre's squad was aware that lessons had to be learned. They failed to take their chances when they were on top early on and in the second half, according to the Stuttgart defender, Ricardo Osorio, "we charged around too much looking for the equaliser".

The French camp are making comparisons between the sluggish way they have begun this World Cup and the way they started in Germany four years ago when insipid draws with Switzerland and South Korea gave no hint of what was to come. Mexico are, however a far more dangerous side than Uruguay or South Africa and if Aguirre's side can break through, France may start to panic. Verdict: Draw.