William Gallas proved he is edging back to full fitness with a second half equaliser as France battled to a 1-1 draw in Tunisia in their World Cup warm-up game on Sunday night.
Gallas came into the French training camp in Tignes hoping to prove his fitness for South Africa after missing the final few weeks of Arsenal's Barclays Premier League campaign with a calf injury. He made a 45-minute appearance against Costa Rica on Wednesday night and lasted 63 minutes in Rades.
His main contribution on Sunday was to grab France's goal, converting Yoann Gourcuff's second-half free-kick as Les Bleus hit back after conceding an early opener to Issam Jemaa.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's first match at the Ivory Coast helm finished in a 2-2 draw against Paraguay as the two World Cup qualifiers fine-tuned their preparations in Thonon Les-Bains, France.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba opened the scoring for the Elephants nine minutes after the break when he netted his 44th international goal with a deflected free-kick, and Hibernian defender Sol Bamba extended their advantage with a 74th-minute volley.
But substitute Lucas Barrios pulled one back for the South Americans with a low shot a minute later and Aureliano Torres equalised a minute from time to deny Eriksson a winning start to his regime.
South Korea's preparations were jolted as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat against non-qualifiers Belarus. Midfielder Syarhey Kislyak scored the only goal of the game in the 53rd minute, driving home the ball left-footed into the right corner from 18 yards.
Manchester United-bound striker Javier Hernandez and Adolfo Bautista each netted twice as Mexico completed their World Cup preparations with a handsome 5-1 win over Gambia.
An inexperienced Northern Ireland side lost 1-0 to Chile in Chillan as the hosts continued their World Cup preparations with a comfortable victory. Esteban Paredes got the only goal of the game for the South Americans as his far-post header on the half-hour mark secured the spoils.
Source: PA
