French coach's job not safe after WCup qualifier draw

CONSTANTA, Romania – France coach Raymond Domenech could still lose his job despite his team's comeback 2-2 draw at Romania on Saturday in a World Cup qualifying match. Florentin Petre and Dorin Goian put Romania ahead 2-0 after 17 minutes, but Franck Ribery and Yoann Gourcuff salvaged the draw. Domenech was kept on by the French football federation despite a group-stage exit from the European Championship, but he was urged to improve results — reportedly needing five points from the first three qualifiers. But France has four points — two behind Serbia and Lithuania in Group 7. "The federal council meeting is on the 15th (Wednesday) which is not too far away," FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said. "We have to concentrate on Tuesday's match against Tunisia. Then we will see the decisions the council will take." Ribery said the players were determined not to lose for Domenech's sake. "We played for ourselves but we also played for him," Ribery told the Web site of sports daily L'Equipe. "We couldn't afford to lose. At 2-0 down, we knew a defeat would complicate things for him. We hope he'll be with us in the future." After Euro 2008, France began qualifying with a 3-1 loss to Austria, and beat Serbia 2-1 to give Domenech a reprieve. The FFF also told Domenech to improve his communication skills after French football fans reacted angrily to him proposing live on air to his girlfriend moments after France was eliminated from Euro 2008. Including Euro 2008, France has conceded 14 goals in the last seven games. Should Domenech be fired, France could replace him with either Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc or Gerard Houllier. France has a friendly against Tunisia on Tuesday at Stade de France. Domenech was roundly jeered by French fans there against Serbia on Sept. 10. Domenech's tense relationship with the French press has worsened and he skipped a scheduled news conference last week. – AP