It is crunch time in the European section of World Cup qualifying as the play-offs get underway on Saturday, with Ireland's attempt to overturn the odds against France taking pride of place.

In the build-up to the tie, Richard Dunne took the risky decision of publicly pointing the finger at Raymond Domenech, accusing the manager of being France's weak link and highlighting an incident when Domenech was booed by the crowd at the Paris Masters tennis event.

Writing in the Guardian, Irish comic Dara O'Briain revels in his compatriot's brave, if perhaps foolhardy, attempt at mind games. In 'It's in the stars: Raymond Domenech is Ireland's best chance', O'Briain picks up on the French coach's fondness for astrology and also finds sustained comic potential in Dunne's attack.

"That's right, Richard, divide and conquer. Let the French team, indeed the French nation, know that this man is what's dragging them back.

"And what's the best way to get him sacked? That's right, mes amis, by not qualifying for the next World Cup. Wow, when did Dunne become Machiavelli? When did the Aston Villa stopper start scheming like Iago? Or to put it in terms the French would understand best, at what point did the rock at the centre of our defence begin to resemble the Marquise de Merteuil, the conniving villainess Glenn Close played in Dangerous Liaisons, who once said: 'Never open your mouth without first calculating how much damage you can do.'

"Dunne, you may take your place at the court of the Dauphin. You may flutter your fan at the French nobles and sow doubt and discord. Previously I would have mainly trumpeted Dunne for his tackling and heading; now I see him in a powdered wig, dropping arch bon mots and undermining the aristocrats."

The Independent's Paul Newman also casts his eye over the problems affecting the France squad under Domenech. In 'Domenech fears player revolution', he highlights how the squad have underachieved in recent years.

"While today's Irish squad includes players from Scunthorpe, Preston, Reading and Bohemians (and none from Continental Europe), every one of Domenech's party plays in the top division of one of the big leagues. Twenty of them have been playing in the Champions League this season and the loss through injury of Franck Ribéry and Gaël Clichy has not significantly weakened the squad.

"There is a feeling among the French public that such a group should not be in this position and that the players, through a lack of respect for Domenech, are not living up to their potential. Karim Benzema, one of the most gifted of the younger players, admitted recently that he did not always try his hardest when playing for France.

"In public at least, the squad are standing behind Domenech. On a day when the main headline in L'Equipe, the sports daily, said that the Irish saw the French coach as their best chance of victory, Sidney Govou, the experienced Lyons striker, rejected any such idea.

'He won't be on the pitch,' Govou said during a break from training at Clairefontaine. 'The Irish are trying to turn on the pressure, but there's no debate. We're united as a group and in attacking him they are attacking us. It's not a question of supporting him. The only support we can give him is by performing on the pitch.'"