France midfielder Patrick Vieira marked his 30th birthday in style by scoring one goal and setting up another as France finally won a World Cup game, beating Togo 2-0.

"There's a great potential in this team and I hope this qualification will help us play more freely because we aren't bad at all," said Vieira.

"It took time and it was difficult but in the end we proved competitive and reached our first goal which was to advance to the second round," added Vieira.

The midfielder, who was named Man of the Match, also set up Thierry Henry's goal after an hour with a brave header before being substituted following another bang on the head.

"It's true that, on a personal level, it's a great satisfaction," said Vieira after their first Group G win left them runners-up to Switzerland."I'm feeling better and better."

Togo coach Otto Pfister declined to say anything about his future at the post-match news conference following the team's chaotic build-up to the finals involving a pay dispute.

However, the German earlier said he was proud of the way his team performed against a French side full of talented players.

"We played really well in the first half. The second half was more difficult because we were confronted by world class players and their class made the difference," Pfister said.

"Most of our players do not even play in top divisions and they played a great match. I'm not at all disappointed.

"The pressure was clearly on France. They missed a lot of passes and wasted many chances but in that second half they were really better and deserved to win."