HARD DANE BY
Deschamps blames Denmark for World Cup’s first bore draw
DEFIANT France boss Didier Deschamps blamed Denmark for the first goalless bore draw of the World Cup.
A point ensured both sides went through, with France as Group C winners.
But the final whistle was met with resounding boos, as the fans inside the Luzhniki Stadium showed their anger at a lack of entertainment.
Deschamps (above) was unrepentant, however, and blamed his counterpart Age Hareide for defending too deep throughout and settling for a draw.
“The Denmark manager defended too much, but he got what he wanted, which was a draw,” said Deschamps.
“We tried to get a win. It was the most important thing for us to be top of the group. It wasn’t a very exciting game at the end because Denmark were happy with a draw so they would qualify.
“One point was good enough for them and we didn’t have to take risks to get a better result.”
Hareide hit back, saying it would have made no sense for his side to play a more open game and risk losing the point they needed to reach the knockout stages.
“Our goal was to come here and was to progress to the last 16. And if you look at the teams we played, it was one of the toughest groups.
“We just needed one point. We were up against one of the best teams in the world at counterattacks, so we would have been stupid to make a lot of space for them.
“It was a 0-0 and we’re very pleased with that.
“If you are looking for one word to sum up our performance, it would be disciplined.”
When the crowd indulges in a Mexican Wave, as they did after just 20 minutes, you know there is little excitement on the pitch – and so it proved, as both sides played out a dismal stalemate.
With a draw suiting both sides, there was a predictable lack of intensity throughout and little to hold the attention of the 78,100 crowd.
France forward Olivier Giroud had an early shot saved by Denmark’s Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel
(right).
Chelsea striker Giroud then scooped a shot over the bar late in the second half.
Denmark had a chance to score on the half-hour mark, but France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda raced from his line to thwart Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen.
In terms of action, that was about it from a World Cup snoozefest in which everyone who was involved will want to forget in a hurry.