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The head coach of the French national team, Raymond Domenech, publicly urged the players not to expect an easy victory in Saturday's qualifier for the 2008 European Championship against Lithuanian footballers.
According to the coach, after an impressive journey to the World Cup final in Germany last summer, the national team players started to rely too much on their abilities, losing two out of the last four matches.
In October, the French team lost 1-0 to Scotland in the qualifiers for the 2008 European Championship in group, and later suffered the same result against Argentina in a friendly match.
"I see satisfaction in the players," said the coach at a press conference on Tuesday. "We are too relaxed before our matches, when players should actually be burning with the desire to fight."
"We need to tell ourselves: 'Well, we will qualify for the European Championship, but to do that we must win, and to win we must fight.' I hope everyone forgets the World Cup," said R. Domenech.
In Saturday's match, R. Domenech is likely to field those players who marched to the World Cup final last year, where they lost to Italy after a penalty shootout.
However, the French national team coach will have to do without the injured Thierry Henry, Franck Ribéry, and captain Patrick Vieira.
Also not invited to the national team are Lyon defensive midfielder Alou Diarra and Juventus forward David Trezeguet.
