The former world and European champions, still haunted by past failures, have to beat Cyprus at the Stade de France and hope Switzerland do not win in Ireland at the same time to seal their place in Germany.

Should the Swiss also win, France would have to win by four more goals than them to clinch top spot in a tightly bunched Group Four. On their current form, coach Raymond Domenech's men look unlikely to do that.

With their pedigree, France had been favourites to come out of a group featuring solid teams but no heavyweights.

Domenech, however, says he always knew it would be tough.

"I said from the start that it would come down to the last match and here we are," he said.

"People were laughing then but I don't see anybody laughing now."

France would have made sure of their place in Germany had they won in Switzerland on Saturday but could only manage a 1-1 draw to revive painful memories of 1993.

Then, France needed one point from their last two home games to book their trip to the 1994 finals in the United States but stumbled to shock last-minute defeats by Israel and Bulgaria.

That fiasco ended the days of Gerard Houllier as France coach and ruined the international careers of talented players such as Eric Cantona and David Ginola.

A similar scenario this time around would probably cost Domenech his job and would seal the fate of France's old guard led by Zinedine Zidane.

The three-times World Player of the Year came out of retirement in August alongside Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele in a bid to help France qualify.

Victories over the Faroe Islands and Ireland that followed revived some hope, but Zidane and Thuram, both back from injury breaks, showed their age against Switzerland.

France ruled soccer with their triumphs at the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship.

Their campaign so far, however, suggests they have become ordinary. Dull, goalless home draws against Switzerland, Ireland and Israel showed that the days were over when France could trounce any side.

"Ireland and Switzerland are two teams who play good football," said midfielder Patrick Vieira, who also looked below par on the Bern pitch.

"Those who believed we could score four goals against them were wrong. All the teams have improved and they all want to beat France. It's difficult every time now."

With the old generation showing signs of wear and tear and the new one still learning, Domenech, who embarked on a rebuilding mission in the wake of the quarterfinal exit from Euro 2004, has plenty to worry about.

France last reached a World Cup via the qualifying rounds when they sealed their place at the 1986 finals in Mexico where Michel Platini led the team to the semi-finals.

Platini joined the debate by saying before the Bern match that if France could not beat Switzerland, then they would have nothing to look forward to next year.

"He's not totally wrong but on the other hand it's easy to say negative things from the outside," said Vieira.

However, the team are trying their best to stay positive.

"We have to win that last match, no matter how," said Makelele.