Lyle - in great form for the Americans.

By Gareth Duggan, PA Sport, Sydney

France will go into their match against the United States with a second-string side to preserve their top players for the quarter-finals and openside flanker Patrick Tabacco expects a stern challenge from the Eagles.

Tabacco will wear the number seven jersey, normally the property of Serge Betsen, and will be at the forefront of a battle to subdue an American back row which has impressed many during the tournament.

Dan Lyle has been in superb touch at number eight, while Dave Hodges has led in typically energetic style on the openside and Kort Schubert has scored two tries from the blindside.

"It will be a big challenge because what I see in their backline is that they compliment each other very well." said Tabacco.

"They have got a great jumper, they have got someone who runs all over the park and they have got a strong breaker of the line," he said.

Tabacco also admitted he had been impressed by the way the Tom Billups-coached Eagles had performed in the World Cup so far.

After going down by just a point to Fiji they matched Scotland for long periods before losing, then beat Japan in Townsville.

"I am very pleasantly surprised by the way they have been playing," said Tabacco.

France have been working hard on their set piece work during their training in Sydney.

"Bernard Laporte has put a lot of emphasis on the set pieces and winning all our own ball on line-outs and scrums.

"We also want to put a lot of pressure on the opposition to try and monopolise the time with the ball in our hands."

Tabacco is part of a completely revamped side from the team which hammered Scotland 51-9 in Melbourne on October 25.

None of the players who started that match will line up against the Americans, although seven of those starters in Melbourne make up Laporte's reserve bench this time.

Gerald Merceron comes into fly-half for Frederic Michalak and the newly arrived David Bory will play on the left wing after flying in from France to replace the injured Xavier Garbajosa.

Damien Traille gets his chance to push his claims to start in the quarter-finals at centre, while lock Olivier Brouzet will lead the team as Fabien Galthie has been rested.

Meanwhile, American coach Tom Billups has admitted he does not really expect to beat France, even if they have a second-choice 15 on the pitch.

"We would have to play out of our skins," said Billups, who named a familiar line-up for the match.

Salesi Sika remains at inside centre in the absence of the injured Kain Cross, while John Buchholz starts at full-back in place of Paul Emerick, while Alec Parker returns at lock having missed the Japan match because of injury.

The match has the historical significance of pitting the reigning Olympic champions against the side they beat the last time the sport was played at that level.

But Billups doubts that the 1924 win by the USA in Paris will have much influence on a game 89 years later.

"It is an important part of our rugby history in America, but the French team is cut from a different cloth."