Raymond Domenech has been appointed national team coach, French football federation (FFF) chairman Claude Simonet announced on Monday.

"We received 41 applications, six of them were really serious. The shortlist was reduced to three names, Laurent Blanc, Jean Tigana and Raymond Domenech, before we reached a consensus and appointed Raymond Domenech," Simonet told a press conference.

The 52-year-old Domenech, who was the under-21 coach, succeeds Jacques Santini, who left after Euro 2004 to take over at English premier league club Tottenham Hotspur.

A former defensive midfielder who won eight international caps, Domenech brought through players such as Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Louis Saha and Bruno Pedretti.

He took the under-21 side to the semi-finals of the European championship in 1994 and 1996 and to the final in 2002.

His first task as national coach will be to help Les Bleus overcome the disappointment of losing their European title in Portugal, where they were surprisingly beaten by eventual winners Greece in the quarter-finals.

The August 18 friendly against Bosnia in Rennes will be his debut in the role.

France begin their 2006 World Cup qualifiers on September 4 at the Stade de France against Israel. The group also includes Switzerland, Ireland, Cyprus and the Faroe Islands.