France face Serbia with coach's job at risk

By Patrick Vignal

PARIS (Reuters) - Raymond Domenech has shown he can survive just about anything but another dismal performance against Serbia on Wednesday might just be too much and could spell the end of his days as France coach.

French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes decided in July that Domenech would stay on despite his team's Euro 2008 flop but said the coach needed results.

The FFF made clearer the abrasive coach was under scrutiny when Alain Boghossian, a substitute in France's 1998 World Cup-winning campaign, was named as his assistant last month.

After France were shocked 3-1 by Austria in their opening 2010 World Cup qualifier on Saturday, French media speculated Domenech would be sacked if his team failed to beat Serbia in their second Group Seven match in Paris.

Boghossian was named as a possible replacement along with fellow 1998 world champions Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc.

Domenech, as ever, kept his cool under pressure.

"It's too early to start worrying," he told reporters. "We have a match against Serbia and another one against Romania (on October 11) to prepare. After that we'll make an assessment."

The 56-year-old, who came under heavy criticism after France left Euro 2008 with just one point and one goal from three group matches, has had a difficult relationship with some players and the media for years.