France captain Patrice Evra admits he is disgusted by his side's 'disastrous' World Cup campaign.
Les Bleus skipper deeply upset following Mexico defeat
France captain Patrice Evra admits he is disgusted by his side's 'disastrous' World Cup campaign.
Les Bleus put in an abject performance on Thursday night against Mexico in Polokwane, going down 2-0 in a defeat that puts them in a perilous position in Group A.
France now need a big win against South Africa in their final group game, but will crash out of the competition anyway if Uruguay and Mexico play out a draw.
Manager Raymond Domenech looked a forlorn figure on the touchline in the Peter Mokaba Stadium, and he seemed bereft of ideas whilst all was spiralling out of control on the pitch.
Manchester United left-back Evra, who only took the armband at the start of the tournament, admits France are not a great team and has labelled the campaign a 'catastrophe'.
"It's a catastrophe, that's all we can say. We are not a great team," he said.
"When you are knocked out of the European Championship in the first round (in 2008) and you are also capable of being knocked out in the first round of the World Cup, you just don't want to think about football after that.
"I honestly didn't see it coming. What hurts is that we didn't know how to react, or how to equalise, and then they killed us with that second goal.
"I am deeply upset, I'm disgusted. We owe it to ourselves to beat South Africa.
"But as for miracles, I don't believe in them too much."
Unrest
Rumours of unrest within the ranks appear to be true as France played with no cohesion or spirit against a plucky Mexican outfit.
Domenech, who has long been vilified by the French press, only made two substitutions and refused to bring Thierry Henry off the bench.
The eccentric coach, who will be replaced by Laurent Blanc after the World Cup, admitted to being 'lost for words' after the defeat.
Midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, who missed out on a place in the team as Chelsea's Florent Malouda came in, watched the entire game from the sidelines and has described the disappointing effort as a collective failure.
"We couldn't pass the ball properly, they closed us down straight away," added the Bordeaux man.
"I'm very, very disappointed. It has been a collective failure over the two games.
"Football is hard when you can't play together. Perhaps I have paid the price, I don't know. I've not had any explanations."
Malouda, who looked the brightest French player on the night, remarked: "It is such a shame to lose that way.
"On Tuesday against South Africa we have to play so that honour may be saved.
"We can't leave the competition without winning a match. It is not possible."
