No worries over Zidane says Vieira

Talismanic French captain Zinedine Zidane, seen here at team practice in Frankfurt, will be fit to start against Brazil in their World Cup quarter-final clash here on Saturday said midfield hardman Patrick Vieira.

Talismanic French captain Zinedine Zidane will be fit to start against Brazil in their World Cup quarter-final clash here on Saturday said midfield hardman Patrick Vieira.

Zidane sat out training on Thursday as the 34-year-old had a leg injury which he picked up in the 3-1 victory over Spain in the second round.

However the former Real Madrid star, who is retiring at the end of this campaign, trained with the rest of the squad on Friday.

"Zidane is really well, he trained with everybody on Friday," said 30-year-old Vieira, who along with Zidane scored in the Spain clash.

Vieira, who was criticized at the beginning of the tournament for some low-profile displays, said it was imperative that France went into the match with the five-time champions in the same frame of mind as they had with Spain.

"We have to be patient against Brazil," said the Juventus star, who was a member of the France team that humbled Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final.

"We must have the same spirit and the same organisation that we had against Spain."

The starting line-up is unlikely to be different from the one that started against Spain with goalkeeper Fabien Barthez set to equal Maxime Bossis' French record for appearances at the World Cup finals of 15.

The sphinx-like France coach Raymond Domenech, however, refused to lay his cards on the table.

"There is still a day to see how everybody is and we will see on Saturday," said the 54-year-old former France international.

"We have 23 players who will be fit for Saturday," added Domenech, who was seething when two French newspapers released his first-choice XI for the first group match against Switzerland.