France set to complete rare 'trick'

Eoghan Sweeney

France will complete a unique hat-trick of international titles on Sunday if they can beat Japan and win the Confederations Cup to add to their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 triumphs.

Despite having come to the tournament without a number of their top players, they are overwhelming favourites to beat the Asian champions at the International Stadium in Yokohama -- also the venue for the 2002 World Cup final.

France have dominated their opponents in every match, with the exception of a 1-0 upset at the hands of Australia, when coach Roger Lemerre fielded a second-string line-up and gave debuts to five players.

In the absence of Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Petit and David Trezeguet, Lemerre has taken the opportunity to look at the kind of depth he has in his squad.

He is certainly not short of players who can put the ball in the back of the net, as shown by the fact that France's 11 goals in the tournament have come from eight different players.

Among those who have found the net are Eric Carriere, who made his international debut in the opening group match against South Korea, and Olympique Lyon striker Steve Marlet.

Nantes midfielder Carriere scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of Mexico and his busy industry and neat passing in midfield have been impressive.

Marlet, whose only previous appearance for his country was a brief stint as substitute against Turkey last November, also caught the eye with a superbly taken volleyed goal against South Korea.

With others like Willy Sagnol, Olivier Dacourt and Mikael Silvestre making an impression, France -- a year away from defending their title -- look an even better side than they were when they first won soccer's biggest prize on home soil in 1998.

But France face a Japan side on a high after the co-hosts topped a group that included Brazil and Cameroon and showed they are clearly better prepared to take on their opponents in the more physical aspects of the game.

They went toe-to-toe with powerful Cameroon and then came out on top in a bruising battle with Australia, winning Thursday's semifinal 1-0 in a game the Socceroos dominated in terms of possession and scoring chances.

JAPAN THRASHED

Although France thrashed Japan 5-0 in their last meeting in Paris in March, the world champions know they will face a stiffer challenge in front of 72,000 Japanese fans on Sunday.

At the end of the group stages, Lemerre was quick to praise the progress the Japanese have made under the stewardship of his compatriot Philippe Troussier.

"They have taken things little by little and Troussier and the Japanese have prepared very well," he said.

French defender Frank Leboeuf also cautioned against overconfidence.

"We don't forget that in Morocco before the European Championship last year we played them, drew 2-2 and only won on penalties," he said.

"We are expecting more the kind of game we had in Morocco than the game we had in Paris. We know it's going to be a tough game.

"We know that there will be a full crowd for them, and we don't expect to have an easy time. We'll have to play at our best if we want to win."