World Cup: France kicks forward Nicolas Anelka off its team after he insults Coach Raymond Domenech

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The meltdown of France continues apace.

On Saturday, Les Bleus tossed forward Nicolas Anelka off their team after he and Coach Raymond Domenech had gotten into a spat at halftime of France’s 2-0 loss to Mexico in Polokwane earlier in the week. According to reports in L’Equipe, Anelka launched an expletive-laden attack on the coach.

‘The decision has just been taken,’ Noel Le Graet, vice president of the French soccer federation, told the French radio station RTL on Saturday.

France, the world champion in 1998 and runner-up in 2006, has only a slim chance of advancing to the knockout phase. It plays South Africa on Tuesday in Bloemfontein, at which point either the former champion or the World Cup host will be eliminated.

But Anelka won’t be around to help Les Bleus’ cause.

-- Grahame L. Jones, reporting from Johannesburg