Zidane Confident of Victory

Zidane confident

"We'll need to be physically present from the start because they're going to turn us inside out, but victory in Dublin is well within our capabilities," said the French captain, who has come out of international retirement for Les Bleus' final four qualifying ties.

Zidane drew encouragement from the 3-0 win against the Ivory Coast two weeks ago in which he, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele made their comebacks.

"I think I'm of the same view as Patrick Vieira about this. The only thing the French team was missing until now was a victory. Winning allows you to do things that had seemed impossible."

Zidane played his first competitive match of the season on Sunday night for Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Cadiz. He created the first goal for Ronaldo with a crisp pass from the advanced central midfield role which Vanderlei Luxemburgo has given him.

French coach Raymond Domenech has confirmed that Zidane will do the same job for France, as both bosses seek to get the maximum creativity from the former European and World Footballer of the Year.