PARIS, June 17: Having uncorked the World Cup champagne with their 3-0 victory over South Africa, France can sweep away any doubts about their championship pedigree against Saudi Arabia tomorrow.That opening win eased the pressure on the hosts from fans disappointed by their warm-up form but coach Aime Jacquet is reluctant to let too much confidence show through."It's a match where we could easily trip up," he said of the Group C game. A defeat for the Saudis would almost certainly rule them out of the second round.The teams have never met before but Jacquet will no doubt remind his players of the 1-0 defeat Saudi Arabia inflicted on a good Belgian side in 1994 which, along with a victory over Morocco, took them into the next stage.Saudi Arabia's coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led Brazil to victory in 1994, is aware his side will have to improve markedly after they showed a surprising lack of initiative up front in a 1-0 opening defeat by the largely unimpressive Danes."We have to try toget one point from our first two games so that we can try everything in the last game (against South Africa). But it's very tough," he said. "We create chances, but we are not scoring goals."France not only overcame a stiff early challenge from the "Bafana Bafana" but crucially found the spark up front that had eluded them in their warm-up games.While first-choice striker Stephane Guivarc'h is still carrying the injury that forced him to go off in that match, his replacement Christophe Dugarry scored one goal, made another and proved an inspiration for partner Thierry Henry.The Saudis are hoping for that kind of form from "Desert Maradona" Saeed Al-Owairan, remembered for his brilliant solo goal against Belgium but looking less than sharp this time round. "I believe he has something to prove in this game," Carlos Alberto said.Carlos Alberto said the Saudis, likely to field largely the same side that played against Denmark, would above all have to try to muzzle French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
