Denmark, France share spoils at Luzhiniki

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Tuesday Jun 26, 2018. 18:45

Denmark and France played to a goalless draw in their final Group C match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

The Danish side was looking for a draw to book a spot in the knockout stages provided Australia did not beat Peru in the other match.

For Les Bleus, they were already in the next stage as they bagged two wins in the group, but it was Denmark that had a bright start in the opening 10 minutes.

However, the Danes failed to test goalkeeper Steve Mandanda between the posts.

The French would settle down and gained control of the proceedings in the heart of the park in search of an early goal after 15 minutes.

It was Ousmane Dembele who took a great shot at goal in the 32nd minute, but it went wide

With two minutes to the break, Dembele and Giroud combined well upfront, but could not force a save from the Leicester City goalkeeper.

Despite coming back from the tunnel with hunger, both camps could not break the deadlock until substitute Nabil Fekir came close with a well struck left-footed shot which hit the side of the net towards the last 20 minutes.

Fekir’s arrival was felt by the Danish defence as he took another shot in the 82nd minute, but Schmeichel denied him.

Both sides were lacklustre in front of goals in the dying stages of the contest as they walked away with a point apiece.

Resulting from this stalemate, Denmark remains second in the group with five points whilst France finishes at the summit with seven points from three matches.

Denmark: (0)
France: (0)

Denmark: Schmeichel, Christensen, Jorgensen, Dalsgaard, Kjaer, Stryger Larsen, Eriksen, Sisto (Fischer 59’), Delaney, Braithwaite, Cornelius (Dolberg 75’)
France: Mandanda, Kimpembe, Sidibe, Hernández (Mendy 50’), Varane, Nzonzi, Lemar, Kanté, Griezmann (Fekir 68’), Giroud, Dembélé (Mbappe 78’)