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Cyprus 0
France 2 (Wiltord 38, Henry 72)
at the GSP, Nicosia
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Henry netted his 28th international goal - and his first in six games - as France were made to work hard for the spoils in front of just 8,000 spectators.
Henry rushed onto Olivier Dacourt's through-ball on 72 minutes to confirm the French side's second Group 4 win - and end the speculation about coach Raymond Domenech's iminent demise.
Domenech was permitted to play Patrick Vieira after his one-match suspension, and the Arsenal skipper added much needed steel to the French middle. Marseille top scorer Peguy Luyindula was included instead of the ineffective Djibril Cisse, and it was his initial break which saw Wiltord open the scoring.
The ball was ferried from Luyindula to Vieira and an inviting first-time ball saw former Arsenal favourite Wiltord slide it past Cypriot goalkeeper Nikos Panayiotou.
Second-from-bottom Cyprus did have their chances however, with Michalis Konstantinou scrambling a sixth minute shot wide and Ioannis Okkas had to be twice foiled by Fabien Barthez on the half-hour.
Just four minutes before Henry struck, substitute Konstantios Makridis' cross was volleyed into the ground and over Barthez's crossbar by Stavros Georgiou.
Cyprus, who entertain Israel on November 17th next, went 2-0 down when Henry ghosted through to end their hopes. They did however hit the woodwork late on as Lambros Lambrou saw his head come back off an upright and spill across the French goal line.
Afterwards, Domenech said: "We played much better tonight.
"We are moving forward step by step. I'm happy with this team who are fighting hard. We took the points we needed."
France are now second to Ireland on goal difference, with both on eight points after four outings. Domenech's side play Poland next month in a friendly, before Basel next March to face the third-placed Swiss.
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Cyprus: Panagiotou, Nikolaou, Kakoyiannis, Okkarides, Okkas, Charalambides, Konstantinou, Charalambous, Ilia, Satsias, Nicolas Georgiou.
Subs used: Makrides for Charalambides (55 mins), Lambrou for Nikolaou (76), Yiasoumi for Georgiou (81).
France: Barthez, Vieira, Gallas, Pires, Wiltord, Henry, Silvestre, Squillaci, Dacourt, Givet, Luyindula.
Subs used: Moreira for Pires (46), Evra for Luyindula (61), Diarra for Dacourt (89).
Referee: Alan Larsen (Denmark)
Attendance: 8,000
(*Photo courtesy of AFP)