Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is demanding more consistency from his exotically-talented team as Brazil face up to Zinedine Zidane's recharged Les Bleus for a place in the last four against England or Portugal.

Also underscoring Brazil's quest for the 'Hexa' or sixth world title is that no South American team has won the World Cup in Europe, stretching back to young Pele's Brazil in Sweden in 1958.

Parreira, who once vowed never to coach Brazil again after the 1994 title victory over Italy after the personal abuse he received for the way the team played, wants a more patient build-up rather than throwing away possession.

"We lack consistency with our moves. It's one thing to have speed. It's another thing to be in a hurry. We confused speed with hurry. We have been in a hurry too often and we have made a lot of mistakes," Parreira said ahead of the Frankfurt quarterfinal.

"What we have to do is work the ball around the pitch more before we make the move."

Brazil face a recharged France coming off their 3-1 spanking of Spain in the round of 16 in Hanover and memories of their 1998 final humbling in Paris when Zidane scored twice in a 3-0 World Cup boilover.

Gilberto Silva, likely to play in the midfield in place of Emerson who has a knee problem, rates France highly.

"France are a spectacular team full of great players and we will have to be at our best to get a result against them," he said.

"I really believe that we are not playing to the best of our ability right now," the Arsenal player said.

"We can play much, much better than this and we will need to if we want to go to the final."

France played their best football for years to beat Spain, but defender Lilian Thuram believes they will have to improve further if they are to have any chance of derailing Brazil's title defence.

The Juventus defender, who passed Marcel Desailly's record as France's most capped player last week against Togo, said: "It was good to come up against a talented team in Spain in the second round, we had to raise our game.

"Now we have to raise it again for Brazil, not only in terms of quality of play but also our level of concentration."

Thuram, who will be winning his 119th cap having passed Desailly's benchmark of 116 appearances, knows what lies ahead of his team in Frankfurt.

"When you look at Brazil's players it's extraordinary the talent they've got, two Footballers of the Year in Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano, Cafu and a very good keeper.

"They're favourites but the beauty about football is that favourites don't always win."

Thuram, along with Zidane, are playing in their last major tournament for France after being coaxed out of retirement during last year's qualifiers to help get the team to Germany.

Brazil striker Ronaldo goes into the Frankfurt showdown as the top scorer in World Cup history.

His goal against Ghana gave him 15 goals to pass West German Gerd Muller's previous top haul of 14 goals.

The Real Madrid striker, criticised for a lethargic start to the tournament and apparent weight problems, has now made it three goals in his last two games.

Key Quotes

French striker Henry: "When you are playing Brazil ... you know they have five stars on their shirt. They always reach the final. We are going to go there with the right spirit."

Teams

France (4-2-3-1)
16-Fabien Barthez; 19-Willy Sagnol, 15-Lilian Thuram, 5-William Gallas, 3-Eric Abidal; 4-Patrick Vieira, 6-Claude Makelele; 22-Franck Ribery, 10-Zinedine Zidane, 7-Florent Malouda; 12-Thierry Henry.

Head To Head

1958: Brazil 5 France 2 (Stockholm)

1986: France 1 Brazil 1 (France won 4-3 on penalties) Guadalajara

1992: Brazil 2 France 0 (Paris)

1997: France 1 Brazil 1 (Lyon)

1998: France 3 Brazil 0 (Paris)

2001: France 2 Brazil 1 (Suwon)

2004: France 0 Brazil 0 (Paris)

Tactics

BRAZIL
Defence: Lucio, who managed to go through Brazil's first four games without committing a foul, and Juan form the heart of the defence with Cafu and Roberto Carlos on the flanks.

The full backs, with a combined age of 69, usually like to get forward but so far they have been less adventurous than usual. Parreira replaced them with the more sprightly Cicinho and Gilberto for the group game against Japan, when the Brazil attack looked livelier in a 4-1 victory.

Midfield: One player, either Emerson or Gilberto Silva, does most of the dirty work in midfield and protects the back four with Ze Roberto helping out.

Ronaldinho, who plays much deeper than for Barcelona, and Kaka play attacking roles. Ronaldinho usually attacks down the left and Kaka along the right, although this can change. Kaka's pace, strenght and vision make him the lungs of the midfield.

Forwards: Brazil field Ronaldo and one other player in attack. Adriano has started three of the four games but has given some plodding performances despite scoring two goals. Robinho was a breath of fresh air against Japan but was injured for the Ghana match.

FRANCE
Defence: Domenech started pairing William Gallas with Lilian Thuram in the centre of defence in the build-up to the tournament. Gallas, who had peviously been made to play at left back, adapted in no time and the new formula works perfectly.

Right back Willy Sagnol likes to get forward. Eric Abidal, on the left, is a little more cautious.

France's tight, flat back four has satisfied Domenech so far but will be really tested by Brazil's unpredictable forwards.

Midfield: Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele play in front of the defence, covering plenty of ground. Zidane sticks to his playmaker's role with Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda acting as wingers, often switching sides.

Forwards: Domenech is likely to go for a single striker in Henry, who was repeatedly caught offside in France's 3-1 win over Spain in the second round. David Trezeguet has been used mostly as a late substitute so far and is expected to play that role again.