New Delhi: France will be on the brink of qualifying for Euro 2012 with an away victory against Romania in Group D on Tuesday.
While England impressed in a 3-0 win at Bulgaria on Friday, France looked shaky in their 2-1 victory at Albania, but still stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games.
Ahead of the trip to fourth-place Romania, who are still in the hunt for a top-two finish, the French, after a slow start, are five points ahead of opponents Romania and three points clear of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who play Belarus.
"We have increased our chances of qualifying by winning in Tirana," France midfielder Alou Diarra said. "We have our destiny in our own hands."
Question marks still remain over the fitness of Abou Diaby, though the signs are that the Arsenal man will be fit for the task. Alou Diarra, on the other hand, is missing due to an ankle injury sustained on Wednesday, while Bacary Sagna’s place in the squad has been taken by Anthony Reveillere after the former picked up an injury.
Patrice Evra and Franck Ribery are both serving bans imposed by the French FA following the World Cup debacle, though the latter is injured in any case, while Jeremy Toulalan has simply been overlooked.
Aly Cissokho has been called into the squad due to an injury to Benoit Tremoulinas.
Dimitri Payet, who has seven goals in eight Ligue 1 encounters this season, could make his debut, probably from the bench.
Romania coach Razvan Lucescu has opted for an experienced line-up for this encounter, including veteran stalwarts Cristian Chivu and Mirel Radoi. The coach has also moved to mix up his side a little in light of recent struggles, as he has drafted Ianis Zicu and Stefan Radu into the side after they had been omitted from the national side in recent times.
While France are coming out of a low period in their history, Romania are at the very bottom of theirs, having hit a record-low FIFA ranking of 46 in September. Euro 2012 progression is also unlikely for Romania, off the back of draws against Albania and Belarus.
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