IF FRANCE fail to lift the World Cup trophy on home soil this summer, then more than a few despairing glances will be shot first towards the bench and coach Aime Jacquet, then to the stands where the most feted French footballer ever will be watching.
One man who can't believe Jacquet's autocratic style and stubborn refusal to have involved Eric Cantona in the national set-up is the player's close friend and musician Jean-Michel Jarre. Heavily involved in writing some of the tournament's theme music to capture the spirit of the competition, Jarre has composed Rendez-Vous 98 together with English dance band Apollo Four Forty and the song has been picked up by ITV as their flagship World Cup tune.
Eric's a good friend of mine and it's the biggest regret of everyone in France that he isn't out there on the pitch, said Jarre. We'll be going to some of the World Cup matches together, but he should be on the pitch rather than up in the stands with me. It's typical of the French mentality that anyone who's a bit of a maverick gets punished for it. I think that Eric would love to have been out on the pitch and I believe he wouldn't have retired when he did if he'd been kept involved in the national team.
Jarre's friendship with Cantona was cemented when he told the player he'd always been a Manchester United fan: I love English football and I've followed it since I was a kid. I always supported United and I did have a soft spot for Liverpool, because they were such a great side. I enjoyed working with Apollo Four Forty on Rendez-Vous because they're massive football fans, too. We tried to write a song that summed up the spirit of the World Cup, of unity between countries. I think that football and music are two things that unite everybody in the world.
Except for Jacquet and Cantona, that is.

BATISTUTA TOO HOT FOR CHILE MANCHESTER UNITED target Gabriel Batistuta scored the only goal of the game on Tuesday night to see Argentina past fellow South Americans Chile. The £12m-rated Fiorentina hitman scored the winner two minutes into the second half to send a shiver down England manager Glenn Hoddle's spine - the two countries will meet in the second round of the World Cup if one team wins their group and the other finishes second. Batistuta's strike saw the double World Cup winners continue their impressive recent run of form, which includes a 1-0 win over Brazil in Rio, but they had to rely on a last-minute penalty miss by Ivan Zamorano to earn their victory. The 29-year-old emerged with more credit from the battle between Old Trafford transfer targets past and present. United boss Alex Ferguson is still considering whether to move for the Argentine while Chile's Marcelo Salas, who Fergie turned down last winter, failed to impress. Salas, who scored both goals in a win against England in February, is now going to Lazio for £13m.

CHUNNEL TRAINS ALCOHOL BAN EUROSTAR are to ban fans from bringing alcohol onto all cross-Channel trains during the World Cup finals. Bars on the trains will also be ‘dry' if police feel trouble is likely. Both British and French police are ready to take extreme measures to ensure safe train journeys. The British Transport Police will be able to arrest troublemakers while the trains are in France and French officers will be able to call up their riot police. But chief superintendent Peter Whent said he was not expecting problems: My message is very simple - if you are drunk, you will not travel because we won't allow you to travel on any train. Warning signs will be placed at Eurostar terminals telling passengers to leave alcohol behind or face having it confiscated at check-in.

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