By Myles Palmer
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France 1 Belgium 2
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A 91st-minute winner by Marc Wilmots gave Le Blues a huge kick up the arse.
Which is exactly what they need.
Defender Glen de Boert put the Belgians ahead and own-goal made it 1-1 at half time after Wiltord had hooked the ball into the goalmouth.
Petit was their best player. His passing was masterful.
Vieira equalled the record for consecutive internationals, 36, but looked jaded.
He needed five days off, not 90 minutes against those Belgian bruisers.
CISSE came on at half time and he was explosive , exciting, a peroxide Cyrille Regis, a powerhouse whose late-call up threatens to become a fairytale.
Cisse is a real No 9 and it doesn’t matter that he is only 20 and plays for Auxerrre, a small town club.
He has nothing to lose and everything to gain and his ebullient presence will terrify defences. He bounced a header off the bar from Wiltord’s cross.He was raw, yes, but he was also fresh and positive.
Can Cisse handle a World Cup?
Nobody knows, but he’s older than Michael Owen was last time and he is coming into a very good team who KNOW they can win it again.
Zidane’s wife is having their third baby, so he was absent.
They also missed Pires, whose final ball is so good.
19th May 2002.