Richard Dunne admits he may have to crawl off the pitch against France tomorrow night if he is to keep his World Cup dream alive.

The Republic of Ireland defender knows he and his colleagues at the back will be fully extended when France coach Raymond Domenech unleashes his formidable armoury at Croke Park, with Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Karim Benzema all at his disposal.

However, Dunne is confident a united approach, from skipper Robbie Keane all the way back to keeper Shay Given, can see Ireland through.

Asked about the pace in the France squad, the 30-year-old said: "We will just have to adapt as it goes along.

"They are obviously very fast but the whole thing for our team is they have got players all over the pitch who can skip past players, so if someone gets beaten, someone has to cover.

"If we all come off the pitch crawling because we are that tired, it has to be that way because we are going to have to work extra hard to help each other out and get the prize at the end of it."

Few even within the Irish camp have tried to suggest that Giovanni Trapattoni's squad can match the French man for man.

However, the same was said ahead of their Group Eight clashes with reigning champions Italy, both of which ended in draws - with Marcello Lippi's men surviving a major scare in Dublin last month.

Dunne is well aware of the disparity between the two sets of players on paper but that has not diminished his belief.

He said: "It's a squad that has to beat them. This is what we have got and this is what has got us this far, so it's certainly good enough.

"We just have to believe and have absolutely no negativity around the place or anything to do with us.

"It is just about getting to a World Cup. For myself and everyone else in the team, that's our belief, that we will win the games and we will qualify. There's no point in even thinking for one second that it's going to be easy because I know on Saturday and Wednesday we are going to probably face the two hardest games.

"But I still believe that the team that goes out, or the players who are involved, we are good enough to win."

France midfielder Yoann Gourcuff says his team will not be drawn into a physical battle.

The French are expecting the Irish to try to turn the match into a gritty contest and pressure them on free-kicks and corners. "We should not forget to play our game and should not get involved in a physical battle," said the Bordeaux star.

"We have more chance of scoring if we play good football and play to our strengths."

Gourcuff believes Ireland will also draw strength from the intense home support.

"Ireland are a good team with great fans who like their players to give everything," he added. "When they have the ball they can do good things and they never give up."