Former France international Bernard Lacombe has slammed his country's display in last night's World Cup playoff first-leg tie against Ukraine.

Les Bleus have a mountain to climb in the second leg in Paris on Tuesday after falling to a 2-0 defeat in Kiev.

"We were beaten in almost every aspect - for pace, winning the ball back and in the tackles," Lacombe, who was part of the 1984 European Championship-winning team, told L'Equipe.

"It's terrible. The closer we were to the final whistle, the more Ukraine were dominating."

France have participated in each of the last four World Cups and won on home soil in 1998.