France held to scoreless draw by Swiss

SOCCER: A lacklustre France failed to tame Switzerland in their World Cup opener on Tuesday, having to be content with a 0-0 draw from a tight, tactical battle at the Gottlibe Daimler Stadium.

The 1998 champions, who had drawn with their neighbours twice in World Cup qualifying, could not surprise a compact and well organised Swiss side on a hot, sunny evening. They have not scored in the finals since they won the title eight years ago.

France and Switzerland kept intact their chances of progressing from Group G, led by South Korea after they overcame Togo 2-1 earlier on Tuesday.

Both sides, however, need to improve dramtically if they are to go anywhere in the tournament. Switzerland missed the best chance of the game on 65 minutes with a header from close range by substitute midfielder Daniel Gygax that France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez somehow managed to save with his foot. The match, a close affair with few thrilling moves, was played at a relatively low tempo, the players having to deal with stifling heat at first before it cooled down a bit.

The first half was fairly even with arguably the best opportunity for Switzerland, when striker Alexander Frei wasted an effort from close range in the 24th minute after a distant Trangquillo Banetta free kick bounced through untouched to hit a French post.

The France fans breathed a sigh of relief and hoped for a goal seven minutes later when newcomer Franck Ribery snapped a shot narrowly over the bar from just inside the area.

The French contingent then shouted for a penalty after a shot towards goal by Thierry Henry hit defender Patrick Mueller 's hand on 37 minutes.

There were a couple of scares for France in the second half, notably with a powerful run into their box by Philipp Degen on 62 minutes.

The good news for France was a decent performance from ageing masestro Zinedine Zidane, who will retire after the finals.

Top prospect Ribery, starting a match for France for the first time after three sparkling performances as a substitute in warm-up games, showed his class on occasions but could not quite live up to huge expectations.

STUTTGART, Tuesday, Reuters