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France had confirmed their place in the Round of 16 before the match against Denmark kicked off. Les Bleus won both of their first two fixtures while Denmark beat Peru but could only get a point against Australia.
As a result of their imminent advancement, Didier Deschamps chose to rest a few of his key players and rotate his squad.
Steve Mandanda was named in the starting line-up and making his first appearance in the World Cup at the age of 33. Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and Samuel Umtiti were all dropped to the bench with second-choice players on the pitch in replacement.
Before the match started, Denmark's coach, Åge Hareide, criticised the French team, saying that they were nothing special. True to his words, Deschamps' team did not impress during their victories over Australia and Peru, overcoming both by just a goal. However, Hareide later clarified that his comments were ''taken out of context''.
The Euro 2016 finalists dominated possession, with Denmark sitting deep in their own half to defend as the time went by.
Both sides were unable to find the net in dull first 45 minutes. With Peru having scored their first goal of the competition, it meant that both France and Denmark would advance and there was little need to compete.
By the end of the first half, the odds that the match would end up as the first goalless draw of the tournament increased sharply. Many were frustrated by the lack of action from both teams.
The closest chance fell for Denmark in the 54th minute. Mandanda was unable to handle Eriksen's powerful free-kick. The ball bounced back onto the pitch where the Danish players were ready to pounce on. Before that could happen, the ball was hurriedly picked up by the keeper.
Even with plenty of attacking talents such as Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, and Antoine Griezmann on the team, the French team was unable to create anything spectacular.
If either side were to put up such a rusty performance in the Round of 16, they would be knocked out in no time. Here was how fans slammed the lifeless goalless draw between France and Denmark.
