Pogba and France frustrated in Belarus stalemate

0 Paul Pogba: No way through against Belarus for £89m man. France were left frustrated following a goalless draw from their opening World Cup qualifying match in Belarus.

Les Bleus, beaten finalists as hosts of Euro 2016, had plenty of possession in the Group A clash, but even Manchester United’s £89 million man Paul Pogba could not find a way past the home defence.

In Group H, a brace from Everton forward Romelu Lukaku helped secure a 3-0 win in Cyprus for new Belgium manager Roberto Martinez.

Sweden started life after Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a 1-1 draw against Holland in their Group A match at the Friends Arena.

Holland had dominated large spells of the first half, but found themselves behind on 43 minutes when Marcus Berg chipped the ball over the goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area.

The Dutch levelled on 67 minutes when captain Wesley Sneijder slotted in after Dar- yl Janmaat’s shot was saved – and thought they had won it in stoppage time with a header from substitute Bas Dost, which was ruled out for what looked minimal contact with the defender.

Elsewhere in Group A, Bulgaria snatched a dramatic 4-3 win over Luxembourg in Sofia, where there were two goals in stoppage time.

Bosnia-herzegovina got their Group H campaign off to a winning start with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Estonia in Zenica.