After Euro 2008, defensive stalwart Lilian Thuram retired from the team. To mitigate his absence, Domenech moved Abidal into the centre-back position, allowing Evra to take over as starting left-back. In the team's first competitive match since Euro 2008, against Austria, Evra provided the assist for France's only goal scored by Sidney Govou in a surprising 3–1 defeat. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Evra participated in ten of the team's 12 matches, which included both legs in the team's playoff round win over the Republic of Ireland. On 26 May 2010, Evra captained the national team for the first time in a friendly match against Costa Rica; France won the match 2–1. He was subsequently named the captain for the 2010 World Cup ahead of Thierry Henry, who was relegated to the bench for the tournament. Evra wore the armband in the team's first two matches, a 0–0 draw with Uruguay and a 2–0 loss to Mexico.
