France midfielder Jeremy Menez has called on the team not to blow their hopes of qualifying automatically for Euro 2012 at the final hurdle.

Laurent Blanc's men go into Friday's Group D meeting with Albania in Paris one point clear of second-place Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the fight for first place is set to go down to the wire with the top two meeting in their final qualifiers in France on Tuesday.

Les Bleus have not lost an international fixture for 13 months since losing at home to Belarus in their opening qualifier.

That run would have seemed unthinkable when they crashed out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when Raymond Domenech was boss and the campaign was torn apart by infighting, and Menez wants the team to finish the job their have started.

"We have started a great adventure, it would be a shame to stop there," the Paris St Germain said in quotes reported by L'Equipe.

France are clear favourites to defeat Albania and remain in pole position in the group, but they will have to do so without a host of key players who are missing through injury.

Defender Eric Abidal today became the latest withdrawal after failing to recover from a thigh strain he picked play for Barcelona at the weekend.

"It will be too tight, as expected," L'Equipe quoted Blanc as saying. "Even if the medical staff were omnipotent it was impossible. There is a level you have to reach to play an international match. We cannot do anything."

Valencia's Adil Rami and Tottenham's Younes Kaboul are now likely to play in the centre of defence at the Stade de France.

France's chief injury problems lie at the other end of the pitch, though, with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, Paris St German frontman Kevin Gameiro and Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery all ruled out.

Bafetimbi Gomis and Loic Remy are expected to battle in out for what is expected to be a lone striker role.

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi and defender Bacary Sagna are also missing, while full-backs Mathieu Debuchy and Jeremy Mathieu have been called up and could make their debuts.

Albania lie second bottom of the pool, but they gave France a tough game in Tirana last month, the visitors coming away with a 2-1 win.

They followed that with a 2-1 loss in Luxembourg, though, the only team below them in the group.