French World Cup winner Marcel Desailly says Gus Poyet can expect a gloating call from him should France beat Uruguay this evening.
The pair were good friends during their playing days at Chelsea and have remained in contact ever since.
But friendships will be put to one side for 90 minutes as their respective nations go head-to-head in the Group A game in Cape Town.
Desailly said, "If we beat Uruguay then Gus can expect a text from me and maybe a phone call too if the result goes really well.
"This is a big game for both nations; we drew 0-0 in the World Cup in 2002 when both France and Uruguay failed to get past the group stage.
"Neither country will want a repeat of that and certainly those finals bring back bad memories for the French.
"I should have spoken to Gus to get some inside knowledge that I could have passed on to my mates in the French squad, but if we play to our strengths we can win.
"We need to play Thierry Henry as a lone striker to have the best chance, but I don't think the coach (Raymond) Domenech will do that. I think Thierry will start from the bench, which is wrong in my opinion."
Desailly has been a keen observer of Poyet's first foray into management at Brighton and has been impressed with the Uruguayan's progress so far.
"He turned Brighton's season around," the Frenchman added. "He is learning management the right way by starting out at a lower level and I think Brighton will do well under him next season, especially as he will have the summer to really mould his own team.
"But his success so far doesn't surprise me. He has the experience and knowledge to go far. He was always opinionated as a player."
With the help of Xbox, Marcel is lending his support to 1GOAL, the charity which aims to get kids into school. Sign the petition now!
