Les Bleus Save Themselves and Salvage Point

The game was supposed to be so vital for the French, they were saying they couldn't afford to lose? Well, judging from the opening 20 minutes you would have never guessed that France was the desperate team in need of a result.

France came out totally flat and paid the price as they incredibly gave up 2 goals inside the first 20 minutes of the match. With every game so vital and Domenech's grip on this team seemingly slipping every day, it felt like it was just another day at the office for the French players in the opening 20 minutes.

"I was worried in the first 15 minutes," admitted Domenech.

Then—whatever the reason—they all decided to smarten up and play their game.  Frank Ribery got them back on track with a goal in the 36th minute from a nice setup from Yoann Gourcuff.

That seemed to spark "Les Bleus" as they came out in the second half and took control of the game, as they dominated large portions of the second half and were rewarded in the 69th minute when Ribery set up Gourcuff who unleashed an unbelievable strike from 30 yards out to equalise.

The teams traded chances late in the contest but after 90 minutes no more goals were scored. 

The draw, while it is a vital given how it could have turned out, does little to help them in the group. Four points from three matches is definitely not the way the world cup runner-ups anticipated their campaign to start and no doubt the cry will still be for France to axe Raymond Domenech.

The road does not get any easier for France moving forward as they face the surprising group leaders Lituania at home on Wednesday. Anything less than three points in that one will be considered a failure and will also be a huge blow to their hopes of qualifying for the 2010 world cup.