Beckenbauer blasts poor France

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has turned his anger on France after their dismal 2-0 defeat against Mexico left them on the verge of an early exit. Having previously lambasted England for "going backwards", the 64-year-old has now laid into Raymond Domenech's team. "The French are - for the moment - the biggest disappointment of the World Cup," said Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. "The manner in which they played (against Mexico), is unworthy of a World Cup, it looked more like they were playing in a warm-up match." He added: "What really shocked me, is the manner that they accepted the defeat, nobody showed any fire in fighting back. "One felt that they really weren't a team."

Source: PA