Franck Ribery has said that France need to "play without fear" in their playoff against Ukraine if they are to avoid the "catastrophe" of missing out on the World Cup.

Les Bleus finished second to reigning champions Spain in Group I of European qualifying, and will now play two legs against Mykhaylo Fomenko's men for a ticket to Brazil.

"For me it's very important that we qualify," the Bayern Munich winger told FIFA.com. "Ukraine are a good team but France have to be in Brazil.

"What would it mean for France if they missed out on a ticket to Brazil? That would be a catastrophe for the whole country.

"It's hard to think about that, we can't put ourselves under too much pressure. We need to play without fear."

The first leg takes place in Kiev this evening, with the return match in Paris on Tuesday.