The onerous atmosphere in French football has lifted pretty quickly since they produced an outstanding comeback to reach the World Cup.

Between the playoff first leg defeat to Ukraine and kick off at the Stade de France last night, Les Bleus had lost the support of the French public.

But the clouds which had been pressing the top of the Eiffel Tower have seemingly disappeared to reveal a clear bleu sky.

French football magazine L'Equipe, which had consistently pilloried the team, had a single word as their headline after last night's 3 - 0 win: Respect!

Indeed, France could have a major impact in Brazil - provided that they can harness the elements which created last night's performance.

The Guardian's Paul Doyle joined Ger Gilroy and Dan McDonnell on Off The Ball tonight and he can see some green shoots for France.

"Even in the run up to the game, you had politicians saying that the problem with this team was that they were imbeciles. But there were certainly plenty of positives from the performance last night. So there is reason to believe that this team could make a big impact.

"They played with a verve and direction that they have often lacked. It was a brilliant display and feels like a new start."

Doyle went through the elements which made last night's performance from the display of the "excellent" midfield trio of Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye to Karim Benzema's best France showing in years.

Listen to the full interview in the Off The Ball Football Show podcast.