HAMELIN, Germany (Reuters) -- The last time France played Spain competitively, the great Zinedine Zidane was at the peak of his powers.

"It was a very good match, maybe the best I've ever played for France," Zidane had said after a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Spain at Euro 2000 throughout which he had been magnificent.

Six years on, Zidane is reaching the end of his glittering career but France still need some inspiration from him when they play Spain in the second round of the World Cup on Tuesday in Hanover.

The ageing midfield playmaker, who will retire after the finals, knows every match now could be his last.

"We want to go a long way for the team but also for him because we know it's his last major competition," midfielder Alou Diarra told reporters on Sunday.

"That's an extra motivation for us."

It has been a strange World Cup so far so Zidane, who picked a yellow card in each of France's first two matches and was suspended when they beat Togo 2-0 in their Group G decider on Friday.

Zidane, who turned 34 that day, followed the match from the changing room with defender Eric Abidal, also serving suspension.

"He was so frustrated not to play that match," Abidal said on Sunday. "He's such a competitor. He always wants to win, even when it's just training. He makes it look easy sometimes but I can tell you he works extremely hard.

"Everbody wanted to win that match (against Togo) to enable him to end his career on a high note."

France, relying on several players past their prime, have looked sluggish so far and the absence of Zidane against Togo did not stop them from winning their first World Cup match since they stunned Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 final.

The gifted son of Algerian immigrants is such a talisman, however, that France coach Raymond Domenech has no option other than to include his captain in the starting lineup on Tuesday.

"Having such a player in your team is always an advantage," Domenech said.

Abidal went further, saying the balding number 10 with the magic touch could again be the match winner against Spain.

"Spain have excellent players but they don't have Zidane," he said.