Domenech: "We will know the truth after Dublin"

IT'S WHAT they call charisma. Zinedine Zidane strolls into the press room in the Stade Bollaert in Lens and, immediately, a mundane atmosphere is charged.

He is preceded, as all superstars are, by a television camera man who has mastered the art of walking backwards. Then a blizzard of flashbulbs erupts as Zidane takes his seat at the top table for the traditional captain's eve of match press conference, as France prepare to resume their World Cup Group Four campaign against the Faroe Islands here tonight.

There is a long embarrassed silence, as everyone waits for someone else to ask the first question, while Zidane, self-contained and poker-faced, stares down at the table. Eventually, the press conference grinds into action but a full 15 minutes have elapsed before the great man cracks a smile. And it's only when he's asked if he thinks the Republic of Ireland have improved since the return of Roy Keane.