Euro Cup finalists France have made a stuttering start to their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign as they were held to a goalless draw by Belarus in Borisov here.
Belarus started off on a good note and played some attacking game in the first half by not allowing the French players to come inside. They also moved to threaten Deschamps' team, reports Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.
But from the start of the second half, the French persistently pushed forward. Still, Belarusian goalkeeper Andrei Gorbunov was very reliable and eliminated the attacks of the guests.
Now with one point in hand, France will focus their sights on moving towards the top of the Group A table as they meet Bulgaria on October 7 while Belarus are set to meet European superpower Netherlands in the next qualifying match.
The other games of the qualifying Group A saw Sweden draw the Netherlands 1-1, while Bulgaria took out Luxembourg 4-3.
--IANS
gau/vgu/vt
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