Domenech Urges France Fans To Buy Tickets; Worried About Ireland Support

France head coach Raymond Domenech has appealed to the public to provide great backing for his side as they attempt to negotiate their way past Ireland in their World Cup play-off.

Les Bleus tackle the Irish in Dublin on November 14 before welcoming the Boys in Green to Paris four days later. Having watched France play the same opponents in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign in front of a significantly green-clad crowd in Paris, Domenech is urging French supporters to act quickly to buy tickets for this fixture.

“We’ll see at the end,” Domenech said to the AFP news agency when asked of his side’s prospects over the two legs. “Anyway, if we play at home in front of 30,000 Irishmen as we did in 2004... We need a real mobilisation [of the fans].

“We need the French to rush and get tickets so the Irish do not buy them all. That would be a first victory. The British [sic] are very good at it, they react quickly - I am sure [the Irish will] go online to try to get tickets.

“This game will be a real battle, we must support the team of France. Do not let the Irish have more seats than those they will be allocated!

“We want to face Ireland with 60,000 Frenchmen at the Stade de France.”

When these two sides last met in Paris, the scoreline ended 0-0. However, Domenech will also remember the Euro 2008 qualifying tie against Scotland at the Parc des Princes, which was played out in front of a crowd split close to 50-50.

Les Bleus’ hopes of reaching Austria and Switzerland were put under the microscope that evening as James McFadden won that fixture for the visitors and he is keen to avoid a repeat.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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