Richard Buxton: France fail to impress in goalless draw

It felt somewhat fitting that France played out the first goalless draw of this World Cup last night.

Both they and this summer's Finals had both promised so much, but have delivered little so far.

In the case of Les Bleus, they have yet to truly rise to the occasion.

Didier Deschamps' men should have known what to expect upon discovering their Group C fate last December.

GROUP C

DENMARK	FRANCE
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Last night's reunion with Denmark triggered harrowing echoes of their catastrophic defence as world champions in 2002.

A repeat was never on the agenda.

Qualification had been assured long before the showdown in Moscow.

Make no mistake, however, Deschamps' men have flattered to deceive just as their predecessors did.

Marginal wins over Peru and Australia did little to inspire belief that they will find themselves returning to Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium in little under three weeks' time for the final.

They would struggle to justify their place on the strength of those who were not subject to Deschamps' wholesale changes.

Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Girioud found themselves completely out of sync and had failed to successfully exchange a pass after an hour of play.

Belgium and England are also unlikely to be in the Russian capital next month, but do at least have morale-boosting victories over their perceived lesser Group G opponents, Panama and Tunisia, to show for their comfortable progress into the Round of 16.

Few of the runners and riders at this World Cup have done similar, in truth.

Even holders Germany face the risk of early elimination - a previously inconceivable thought heading into this year's showpiece.

Others, like Brazil and Spain, have also struggled to make significant headway; leaving France free to seize the impetus.

Not for the first time, however, they have severely underwhelmed.

Wholesale changes from last Thursday's victory in Ekaterinburg appeared charitable on Deschamps' part; both to his opponents and France's own ragtag bunch of misfits.

Goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, handed a World Cup debut at the age of 33, is unlikely to displace Hugo Lloris anytime soon.

Likewise defenders Djibril Sidibe and Presnel Kimpembe aren't likely to feature prominently again, the latter finding himself routinely terrorised by Denmark forward Martin Braithwaite.

Now unbeaten after 17 games, Denmark coach Age Hareide can relish a likely Round-of-16 meeting with Croatia this weekend.

The Norwegian has fashioned a diligent yet at-times dynamic side which sets him apart from Morten Olsen, his much-maligned predecessor.

Much to the Luzhniki's lament, with widespread boos, he remained unapologetic for an approach in which Christian Eriksen found himself limited in both impact and prominence.

A first appearance in the World Cup's knockout stage for over 16 years vindicated Hareide.

For Deschamps, it was a Pyrrhic victory; he may have spared Lloris, Samuel Umtiti and Paul Pogba the needless rigours of a relative dead rubber for their side but they still lack conviction.

The jeers and whistles are only going to get louder for him if this continues.