France is on the verge of going out of the World Cup after its lamentable performance in losing 2-0 to Mexico.

Coach Raymond Domenech's beleaguered team looks to be headed for another embarrassing early exit following the European Championship debacle of two years ago.

Domenech's persistent pledges that France was set for a good tournament and captain Patrice Evra's mantra that the players were united by exceptional team spirit have fallen predictably flat.

The reality for a once-proud France team is that it has no idea how to win or score goals.

"We had the team, but perhaps we didn't have the punch we needed," Domenech said.

But the coach's lack of tactical acumen hardly inspired players lacking in confidence and commitment.

"The France team plays in the image of its coach," former France winger Robert Pires said on French television. "He's not good, we're not good."

If Uruguay and Mexico draw their final Group A game on Tuesday, France is out even if it beats South Africa.

Evra had predicted France could win the competition and spoke proudly about team spirit even though the players hardly spoke to each other on the field.

Former France defender Bixente Lizarazu said Evra's comments merely served to "hide that things were not going well."

France has won only four out of 12 matches in three major tournaments under Domenech. France has won none of its last five games in major tournaments, scoring just one goal and conceding eight.

France's surprise run to the 2006 World Cup final came only after the return from retirement by Zinedine Zidane.

Midfielder Patrick Vieira protected the defence four years ago and was in Domenech's squad for the 2008 European Championship but Domenech overlooked him this time, even though he was finally fit.

A lack of on-field leadership was evident against Mexico.

"Maybe they've reached the point where they don't know what they should do anymore," Vieira said.

When Mexico scored midway through the second half, the French panicked, and there was no one to pull the team together. Domenech had again left veteran forward Thierry Henry on the bench.

"France got a bit anxious," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. "They started throwing balls forward high in the air and that made it easier for us."

France needed to score but Domenech ignored Henry, France's record scorer with 51 goals, and persisted with Nicolas Anelka and Sidney Govou.

Anelka has scored only three goals in the last 25 games for club and country, and Govou has not scored in 37 games.

Anelka, helped Chelsea win the English league and cup double this season but played poorly in the 0-0 draw with Uruguay and was even worse against Mexico.

Late in the first half, Anelka's free kick bounced back off Mexico's wall. Rather than try and win the ball back, he simply watched as Mexico's players pushed up field, forcing France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan into a foul to stop the move.

Toulalan sacrificed himself for the team and got a yellow card, ruling him out of Tuesday's game.

"What bothers me is Nicolas Anelka's performance in the first half. I saw a player strolling ... strolling in the World Cup," Lizarazu said. "He wasn't aggressive, wasn't interested in the game. Domenech took him off at the break, but should have done so before. You shouldn't play in a selfish manner, you have to show you're up for it."

Eric Abidal, who plays at left back for Barcelona, was chosen to play in central defence alongside William Gallas even though Sebastien Squillaci and Marc Planus were available.

Abidal, who was sent off in France's final group game at Euro 2008 for giving away a penalty against Italy, was at fault for both Mexico's goals - caught out of position on the first and conceding a penalty for the second.

Having selected Yoann Gourcuff and dropped Florent Malouda against Uruguay, Domenech did the reverse against Mexico. He then radically changed his formation, pushing Ribery up behind Anelka as a playmaker even though he has never played there before for his club, Bayern Munich.

Domenech also snubbed Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri. Both are creative players who could have helped unlock Mexico and Uruguay's tight defences.

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