For those of you too busy eating hot dogs over the Fourth of July weekend to read up on your favorite footie teams may have missed this one: Raymond Domenech will remain France’s coach despite a first-round exit at last month’s European Championship and will now have a chance to lead the team at the 2010 World Cup.

Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the French soccer federation, said last Thursday he did not want to make a rash decision based on the outcry that followed Euro 2008.

“Domenech’s record is not that bad as coach,” he said. “It is not catastrophic. He qualified us two straight times for a major competition [the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008]. “I did not want emotion and passion to get the better of reason.”

Escalettes said federation council members voted 18-0 to keep Domenech, with one abstention. However, he suggested things could change if France does not get off to a good start in its 2010 qualifying campaign.

“Everyone is fully aware that the French team must evolve,” he said. “We will see where things are in mid-October. But we have not asked him to sign a contract.”

He also insisted that Domenech communicate better, criticizing the coach for remarks that were “sometimes like pouring vinegar on a wound.”

Domenech’s team was among the favorites at Euro 2008 two years after reaching the World Cup final. But two-time European champs failed to win a game and scored only one goal, in a 4-1 loss to the Netherlands. The French also drew 0-0 with Romania before losing 2-0 to Italy.