France and Uruguay played out a dull goalless draw in their opening Group A match on Friday in front of 64,100 spectators in Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium.
Les Bleus had most of the attacking play, but could not break down a stubborn Uruguay defence — even after being handed an advantage for the last nine minutes when substitute Nicolas Lodeiro was sent off.
French coach Raymond Domenech praised his team’s collective spirit — a nod to rumours of discord in the camp — but acknowledged the continuing inability to finish was an issue.
“I think it is frustrating not to have won the match, perhaps we weren’t quite calm enough, precise enough and exact enough in the final phase, but they defended very well,” Domenech said after the game.
The South Americans rely heavily on the strike partnership of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, who scored 53 goals between them last season for Atletico Madrid and Ajax.
Forlan failed to score, largely because his team spent much of the game camped in their own half, but still did enough to win the Man of the Match award for making a nuisance of himself when he did get the ball.
He believed Uruguay deserved a point. “It was a tough game,” he said. “I think it was fair enough for both teams to draw.”
As expected, France started the game with Thierry Henry on the bench. Nicolas Anelka led the line, supported by Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery and Lyon’s Sidney Govou.
Chelsea’s Florent Malouda was a notable absentee in Domenech’s starting line-up.
The game started promisingly, with France looking dangerous. They had the first chance in the seventh minute, when Ribery raced down the left and crossed for Govou, who contrived to knock it past the post from a few yards.
It proved to be one of the few moments the talented Ribery showed what he was capable of, as the Uruguay defence denied him space.
Both teams were unchanged at the start of the second half, which presented fewer chances than the first. France were limited to shots from distance and Uruguay rarely made it out of their own half.