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"Sensational defeat for the Belarusian team in the first match of the European Championship qualifying tournament was called a "catastrophe" by the French press.
Laurent Blanc's team lost 0-1 to their opponents in front of 76 thousand spectators.
"L'Equipe" bluntly stated: "Catastrophe" and added that "the team's play was confused, even though Belarus is a modest and unambitious opponent."
Now the French team faces an away match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who crushed Luxembourg 3-0.
"Tuesday will be a long evening," the newspaper adds. "We have won only one match out of the last ten and we have to do something special to defeat Sarajevo. How to do it? No one knows."
"L'Equipe" also criticized the French Football Federation, who suspended practically retired Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery, Patrice Evra, and Jeremy Toulalan from the national team during the World Cup turmoil.
"Defeated by a team ranked 78th in the FIFA rankings. French football in agony," it concludes at the end.
"Le Parisien" added that "the nightmare continues" and urged to find someone in the team capable of successfully organizing attacks.
"A painful slap in the face," writes "France Soir," and gloomily predicts that finding a remedy for the country's football problems quickly will not be easy.
"The wound is very deep," write the journalists. "'Stade de France' first laughed, then cried."
