Domenech frustrated after draw with 10-man Uruguay
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French coach Raymond Domenech expressed his frustration after France's 0-0 draw with 10-man Uruguay in their opening game of the 2010 World Cup on Friday night.
"It is frustrating not to have won the match," Domenech said. "Perhaps we weren't calm enough or quite precise enough in the final phase. Uruguay defended very well and they have quality in that regard."
In the eye-catching tit-for-tat attackings, the great chance for France appeared in the 8th minute when Ribery ran down the left and cut the ball to Govou who missed the target under pressure. Govou has not scored for France since September 2008.
On 19 minutes, French midfielder Yoann Gourcuff's left-foot free kick from 35 yards almost curled into the top corner.
French midfielder Abou Diaby, who looked impressive, muscled his way through midfield in the 31st minute and played an excellent pass towards Govou. But Anelka pinched it off him and was offside.
Nicolas Lodeiro, a Uruguay midfielder who left the bench in the 62nd minute, was fouled out in the 81st minute, becoming the first red-carded player of the just opened 2010 FIFA World Cup.
However, France still failed to break the deadlock after Henry and then Malouda came onto the pitch and Henry's injury-time free kick missed the target.
"We tried and in the way we approached the game we did a great deal but we weren't able to finish our chances," said a disappointed Domenech.
Reports had it that prior to the game Domenech had been involved in an angry confrontation with Chelsea winger Florent Malouda, who was surprisingly relegated to the substitutes' bench.
"A player that I bring onto the pitch with 15 minutes before the end is one I bring on because I believe he can contribute something," said Domenech in the post-match conference, referring to Malouda, who finally replaced Gourcuff with 15 minutes left on the clock.
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