Marcel Desailly will discover whether he is to continue as France captain on the eve of Wednesday's friendly against Tunisia.

Desailly has been wearing the captain's armband for les Bleus since taking over from Didier Deschamps in September 2000, but his continued presence in the role is not guaranteed under new coach Jacques Santini.

The former Lyon boss could be set to ring the changes following France's dismal World Cup campaign where they tumbled out at the first stage having failed to win a game or even score a goal.

"We have discussed the captaincy with Marcel and a few other players in the past few weeks," Santini told television channel France 2, "and I think the decision will be taken this week in Tunisia.

"The name of the captain, if there is a new one, will be revealed on Tuesday night."

Playmaker Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira, who has just taken over as skipper of English giants Arsenal, are the favourites to succeed Desailly if Santini decides to replace him.

France's friendly game with Tunisia in Rades, near Tunis, will be Santini's first official game in charge after replacing Roger Lemerre last month.