World champions France fell to what has to be seen as a shock defeat in the Confederations Cup, losing 1-0 to Australia.

The French made numerous changes to the side which thrashed South Korea, with Sylvain Wiltord the only Gooner in the starting line-up; Vieira and Pires were on the bench. They dominated a goalless first half, with Wiltord contributing to many of their best moves.

The Socceroos took a shock lead on 60 minutes, through Clayton Zane. The French thought they'd equalised 3 minutes later through Frederic Nee - but it was ruled out for a (controversial) offside.

French coach Roger Lemerre responded by bringing on Horse Face on 71, and Bob Pires (for Dacourt) on 73 minutes. But things soon went from bad to worse, when captain (!) Frank Leboeuf was sent off after a second bookable offence. With time running out, Lemerre threw on Patrick Vieira - but even he couldn't perform a miracle in the 3 remaining minutes.

It's not a complete disaster for the French. They have one game left in the 4-team group stage, with the top 2 both going through to the semi-finals. On Saturday they will face Mexico - who lost 2-0 to Australia in their opener, and face hosts South Korea later today.