France v South Africa

TEAM NEWS

France will be without striker Nicolas Anelka, who has been sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech. Andre-Pierre Gignac or Thierry Henry are the favourites to replace him. Jeremy Toulalan is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.
South Africa goalkeeper Moeneeb Jospehs is likely to play in goal because first choice Itumeleng Khune is suspended. MacBeth Sibaya is also in line to start the game as a replacement for suspended midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi.
One booking from suspension: Masilela, Pienaar (South Africa); Evra, Ribery, Abidal (France).

MATCH PREVIEW

Hosts South Africa face a French side in disarray on Tuesday with both countries needing a miracle to keep their World Cup hopes alive. A draw between Mexico and Uruguay in their final Group A match would see both Latin American sides progress. A winner in that match would open the door for South Africa and France, although it would take a minimum swing of four goals for France to progress and five goals for the hosts to sneak into the last 16.
France's World Cup has been an utter shambles. Rumours of in-fighting between players and staff were confirmed when Nicolas Anelka was sent home in disgrace for insulting coach Raymond Domenech. The French camp then descended into chaos on Sunday when the squad refused to train in protest at the Chelsea striker's expulsion, swiftly followed by the resignation of French Football Federation managing director Jean-Louis Valentin. On the pitch, a listless draw against Uruguay was followed by defeat to Mexico, and Domenech will need to do something drastic to reverse his side's fortunes.
South Africa are aiming to avoid becoming the first World Cup hosts to fail to qualify for the second round. A promising start in their opening 1-1 draw with Mexico was short-lived and a 3-0 defeat by Uruguay exposed Bafana Bafana's obvious limitations. Defender Matthew Booth lamented the squad's lack of quality this week, and their limited resources will be stretched further with the absence of suspended keeper Itumeleg Khune and Fulham midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi.
Carlos Alberto Parreira led Brazil to glory in 1994, but failed to win a World Cup match during spells with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and has never beaten France at the finals in three atempts. His side can at least count on a partisan vuvuzela drone to fire them up from the stands of the Free State stadium, but whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

- France are unbeaten in three previous encounters with South Africa, with two wins and a draw.
- Thierry Henry featured in all three of those games: he made his debut in a 2-1 friendly win in 1997 and scored his first international goal in a 3-1 win at the 1998 World Cup.
- Carlos Alberto Parreira has lost all of his three matches against France at World Cups when in charge of Kuwait (1982), Saudi Arabia (1998) and Brazil (2006).
France
- This is Raymond Domenech's 10th World Cup match in charge of Les Bleus, equalling Michel Hidalgo's French record.
- France have lost on both occasions when playing World Cup hosts at previous tournaments (2-0 to England in 1966 and 2-1 to Argentina in 1978).
- The last time France failed to score in a World Cup campaign was in 2002.

South Africa
- Coach Parreira has never won a World Cup match when not in charge of his native Brazil.
- South Africa are the second lowest-ranked side in the tournament (83) after North Korea (105).
- South Africa have won only one of their previous eight World Cup matches, a 1-0 triumph over Slovenia in 2002.
- No World Cup hosts have ever failed to win a match at their own World Cup.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Oscar Ruiz (Colombia)
Assistants: Abraham Gonzalez and Humberto Clavijo (Colombia)
Fourth official: Hector Baldassi (Argentina)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_34/default.stm

Are people flicking between games or watching them both?

Not a yellow?

I thought that red looked harsh. This France side is enough of a mess with 11 players, Bafana's going to smash them in the second. South Africa to go through, I reckon.

I thought the red was harsh.