31 May 2010

Gallas saves France from defeat in Tunisia

3:10 pm on 31 May 2010

France needed a second-half goal by William Gallas to salvage a 1-1 draw at Tunisia in their penultimate World Cup warm-up.

Centre back Gallas, who had been a doubful starter for the World Cup because of a sore calf muscle, reassured coach Raymond Domenech by heading home a Yoann Gourcuff free kick on 63 minutes to save the former world and European champions from defeat.

Tunisia fought bravely, opening the scoring on five minutes through forward Issam Jemaa, but France, still needing time to adapt to the new, 4-3-3 system they had introduced in a 2-1 win over Costa Rica, improved gradually.

France will now fly to the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion to play China