A scandal ripping through the World Cup worsened on Monday when the French coach said some of his rebellious players may not want to play their final group game against hosts South Africa on Tuesday.
The Gallic soap opera contrasted with some of the best action of the World Cup so far, however, when Portugal thrashed North Korea 7-0 in the tournament's highest score so far on Monday.
Nevertheless despite Portugal's best efforts, the chaotic French squad once again stole the limelight.
Their boycotting of training on Sunday after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech, has horrified the French government and people. The players have been pilloried as overpaid brats.
The crisis took a new lurch when Domenech told a news conference it was possible some of the players would not want to play South Africa in Bloemfontein when both teams face elimination unless they secure a high scoring victory.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked his sports minister to visit Les Bleus' camp in Knysna.
Portugal's best result in a World Cup did restore some bruised pride for Europe's stuttering soccer powers, however, and ensured the Asians' elimination.
Chile kept up Latin America's storming run, squeezing one goal past Switzerland's stingy defence.
Little-known North Korea were back at a World Cup for the first time since they stunned the world in England 44 years ago.
FAIRY-TALE RUN
But there was no repeat of that fairy-tale run when they took a three-goal lead against Portugal in the 1966 quarter-finals before Eusebio scored four to inspire a 5-3 comeback for the Europeans in one of the all-time great games.
Portugal's modern generation made an easier job of it. Watched by Eusebio in Cape Town, they pierced the Koreans' much-vaunted defence with ease time-and-time again.
Man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo notched the sixth goal, his first for Portugal in a competitive match in nearly two years, in a rout that left North Korea on zero points.
Portugal's beaming coach Carlos Queiroz praised his team for "the wonderful way in which they played, their great attitude, reverence for the game, the beautiful football, the beautiful goals."
Despite having Valon Behrami sent off, Switzerland still managed to break Italy's World Cup record of 550 minutes without conceding a goal in Monday's second game.
But their defence was breached in the second half during a wave of fluent Chilean attacks. A header by the South Americans' second half substitute Mark Gonzalez with 15 minutes to go won the game 1-0 and kept Chile on top of Group H with six points.
President Sebastian Pinera, an ardent soccer fan, watched the match from the ravaged city of Constitucion with survivors of a massive February 27 earthquake. "The World Cup is for everyone and we wanted to share," he said from the quake-zone.
SPAIN SEEK TURNAROUND V HONDURAS
As well as France, Italy and England are also licking their wounds after a dismal World Cup so far for Europe's traditional powers.
English vice-captain Frank Lampard denied reports the team had confronted coach Fabio Capello in crisis talks, but clearly all is not well after two dire draws for the nation that invented soccer.
The English need to reproduce their domestic league form, Lampard said. "We play in the best league in the world, the Premier League, and we have to play with that pace and passion that we have every week at home," he said.
Spain hope to turn the tide for Europe's struggling soccer aristocrats and justify their pre-tournament favourites' status against Honduras on Monday night.
Honduras have three brothers in a World Cup squad for the first time. The presence of Jerry, Wilson and Jhony Palacios has an emotional edge because the body of their kidnapped fourth brother, Edwin, was discovered a little over a year ago.
(Reporting by Reuters World Cup team; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Barry Moody; editing by Ossian Shine)
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