France vice-captain Patrick Vieira said his side should start thinking about their game against Spain in the round of 16 in the World Cup rather than celebrating the victory over Togo. Vieira, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday night, scored one goal and dished out an assist to help France beat Togo 2-0 and book a ticket to the knockout stage where they will take on Spain. "There will be no celebrations because we need to focus on the next game," said Vieira, who captained France in the absence of suspended Zinedine Zidane. "We won an important game and I'm happy but the team will first rest and we'll think about Spain tomorrow. "We have huge potential though we still have a lot of work to do. I'm confident we can now beat Spain." Having just two points from their first two games and without Zidane, who also celebrated his 34th birthday but on the sidelines, France had an uphill to climb for a place in the next round.
Vieira took charge defensively in the first period but seeing Juventus mate David Trezeguet and former Arsenal mate Thierry Henry failing to find the net, he decided to step up for a more attacking role after the break. He curled an unstoppable finish into the top corner of the net in the 55th minute then set-up Henry with a perfectly-weighted header for the second just after the hour mark. "I'm satisfied with the way I played especially as it's my birthday but the team performance is more important and we're getting better match by match," Vieira said. "We kept calm and stayed focused today – it's been a long time since France scored two goals. I hope we've liberated ourselves now." Although France coach Raymond Domenech is known of his team-praise diplomacy, he couldn't help paying special credit to Vieira for France's first victory in the World Cup since the 1998 final on home soil. "I don't like talking about individuals but I'll make an exception," a beaming Domenech said after the game. "I've always said Patrick Vieira would be one of the stars of this World Cup and he confirmed that tonight."
