Switzerland draw with France 0-0 to reach round of 16

Updated: 2016-06-20 09:55

(Xinhua)

Switzerland's Johan Djourou vies for the ball with France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris during the Euro 2016 Group A soccer match between Switzerland and France at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve, near Lille, France, Sunday, June 19, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Switzerland dominated possession but created no clear cut chances. It was France who should have gone ahead thanks to efforts of their strikers Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet.

In the 13th minute, Pogba raced down from on high, played a one-two with Kingsley Coman and then fired a shot with left foot from a narrow angle. Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer stopped it with a one-handed save.

Four minutes later, the Juventus star lashed a left-footer from 25 meters, but his effort hit the crossbar. He then initiated another attack in the 58th minute. After fine team work with Andre-Pierre Gignac, he had a drive tipped over by a busy Sommer.

Payet, who was sent on in the second half, hit the underside of the crossbar in the 75th minute and saw their chance of winning all three games evaporate.

Sommer was named the Man of the Match for his great saves and Deschamps said, "When the goalkeeper is Man of the Match, that shows we had chances. You can always criticise players; I know the players are well aware that we can improve in a number of different areas. That said, but for a great goalkeeper and a few centimetres, or being more clinical, we could have scored goals."