San Siro Stalemate For Italy And France

Italy 0 - 0 France

After all the pre-match drama, a goalless draw between Italy and France was something of a disappointment. Neither side could find that killer touch as a largely midfield-based match ended in a 0-0 draw at the San Siro. There were spells of fine play from each side, but the Azzurri in particular will reflect on what might have been, rather than what was. Find the report and all the reactions below.

Italy and France battled to a goalless draw at the San Siro, neither side showing dominance over the other in what was largely a cagey encounter.

The Azzurri enjoyed a good spell with two excellent chances in the first half, but could not make their advantage count. Only in brief spells did they show invention, and their late surge at France perhaps came a bit too late.

Meanwhile an energetic and streetwise Bleus outfit had their own opportunities and desire about them, but were debatably always the more likely of the two to end the game goalless.

The match kicked off with France coach Raymond Domenech watching from the stands, the manager serving out his UEFA-sanctioned suspension following inopportune comments in the media about the state of the Italian game.

In his place sat Pierre Mankowski, assistant coach. While Domenech did not anticipate too many problems resulting from his touchline ban, he remarked before the game that he'd briefed Mankowski on "forseeable" substitution scenarios.

Anything else was, apparently, to be covered via telepathy.

Marco Materazzi of Italy, meanwhile, also enjoyed a bird's eye view of the pitch, although the injured defender would presumably have rather been out there playing than nursing an injury.

In "Matrix's" place came Palermo's Andrea Barzagli, while veteran pairing Alessandro Del Piero and 'Pippo' Inzaghi led the line up front as Luca Toni missed out.

France, matching their hosts' 4-4-2, put their faith in Nicholas Anelka and Thierry Henry in attack, while the rest of the lineup was changed due to injury problems.

With Gregory Coupet out, Mikel Landreau started in goal, while William Gallas failed to regain fitness in time to take part at the back.

The first half passed without goals, Italy just about shading it on the balance of play, although France showed that they were willing to fight for the tie.

Indeed, the early moments passed in the form of a midfield battle, Claude Makelele playing the part of midfield enforcer with perhaps too much relish five minutes in as he appeared to elbow Del Piero. The Chelsea man picked up a yellow card for his troubles.

There were few chances early on, and the first clear-cut one ended in disaster for France. Bayern Munich's Frank Ribery put in some good movement down the right to feed Nicholas Anelka in the box, only for the Bolton man to completely fluff his effort.

Italy decided to take the game to their opponents, Del Piero looking lively on the edge of the box, and the Juventus stalwart might have given his side the lead just after the half hour, had his effort been a little more vicious.

"Alex" picked up the ball from Camoranesi inside the box, but Mikael Landreau of PSG proved the equal of his rather disappointing effort.

Then came the best effort of the half, from 'Pippo' Inzaghi. His looping effort smacked off the crossbar to break San Siro hearts.

That could have been the start of a real period of domination for Italy, but instead France re-established their rhythm, looking fairly comfortable until the interval.

Indeed, they even found the wherewithal to test Buffon, but the Juventus stopper easily dealt with Malouda's long-range effort.

The second half started in somewhat more lively fashion, Barzagli nearly heading home an Andrea Pirlo corner three minutes in, but Landreau got across well to save.

This was perhaps the golden period for chances, particularly for the French, Anelka nearly getting on the end of a through ball only to be denied by Buffon, and Cannavaro soon after had to be at his best to deal with a roving Ribery ball.

Italy were in danger of dropping out of the game, with Del Piero looking increasingly exhausted and isolated up front, but France could not press in this fleeting moment of advantage, and the scores stayed level heading into the hour mark.

Indeed, Thierry Henry showed the visitors' frustrations, bringing down Cannvaro for a booking as Italy regained the momentum.

Camoranesi came off for Perrotta while, minutes later, the fruitless Inzaghi-Del Piero partnership was broken. Shakhtar Donetsk forward Cristiano Lucarelli came on for the Milanese in an attempt to revitalise a tired-looking Italian front line.

Instead, both teams appeared to slow down some what - Italy, perhaps, even moreso. Clear cut chances were at a premium and, while France showed more energy, the Italians had enough know-how at the back to keep them out, particularly the brilliant Cannavaro.

The final minutes, however, saw a reversal. Italy, perhaps touched by the urgency of the situation, began to press and show flashes of great pace. Nonetheless, they could not take advantage of the three minutes of injury time, and the tie ended goalless.

After all the hype, then, the end result was a largely even encounter, and one without too much by way of drama. While the home side arguably had the bulk of the attacking play, it is the visitors who will leave happier - and still in pole position in Group B.

ITALY 0 - 0 FRANCE

Italy: Buffon; Oddo, Cannavaro, Barzagli, Zambrotta; De Rossi, Gattuso, Pirlo, Camoranesi (Perrotta 58); Del Piero (Di Natale 83), Inzaghi (Lucarelli 65).
Yellow Cards: Gattuso 31, De Rossi 86

France: Landreau; Lassana Diarra, Thuram, Escude, Abidal; Ribery (Toulalan 86), Makelele, Vieira, Malouda; Henry, Anelka.
Yellow Cards: Makelele 5, Henry 56

Ref: Lubos Michel (SVK).