Zurich: France were held to a 0-0 draw by Romania on Monday in a defence-dominated match at the European Championship that lacked few clear scoring chances.

Without captain Patrick Vieira and record scorer Thierry Henry, the World Cup finalists dominated possession but failed to penetrate the backline led by Gabriel Tamas.

Romania played with usual defender Christian Chivu in a midfield role as part of a conservative formation drawn up by coach Victor Piturca. It worked.

The best chance fell to France striker Nicolas Anelka in the 33rd minute. After a short corner, Franck Ribery’s cross into the Romanian box evaded everyone, bouncing up high to Anelka at the far post.

The result leaves both teams with one point in group C — the competition’s toughest. The Netherlands and Italy are also in the group.

France seemed intent to control the match early, spreading the ball around the midfield with ease but failing to penetrate Romania’s defence.

But without Henry, who has not trained in four days, France’s tactical play lacked creativity. While France had all the possession, Romania looked for opportunities to counter.

The second half was similarly tight, with few chances for either side. Florent Malouda carved out a chance for himself in the 49th after dribbling past two defenders. His 15 yards shot had power, but was too high.

Vieira pulled out of training last month with a slight left thigh tear, but was confirmed in coach Raymond Domenech’s squad on Monday at the last minute.

Teams

France: Gregory Coupet, Willy Sagnol, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Franck Ribery, Claude Makelele, Jeremy Toulalan, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka (Bafetimbi Gomis, 72), Karim Benzema (Samir Nasri, 77).

Romania: Bogdan Lobont, Cosmin Contra, Gabriel Tamas, Dorin Goian, Razvan Rat, Razvan Cocis (Paul Codrea, 64), Mirel Radoi (Nicolae Dica, 90), Cristian Chivu, Banel Nicolita, Adrian Mutu (Marius Niculae, 78), Daniel Niculae.

Referee: Manuel Mejuto (Spain).

Results

Fra 0 Rom 0