France 0 Romania 0: Ribéry old boys left high and dry as Romanians tread water

France's coach, Raymond Domenech, said his team would be either "in the tournament or in the lake" after the opening game of Group C and, having failed to break down a deadly dull Romanian side, they were left teetering on the edge at best. Matches against the other more fancied members of the section, the Netherlands (on Friday) and Italy will decide whether they sink or stroll happily on.

The veteran defence, with more than 300 caps among the back five players, had not conceded a goal in three warm-up games and was never in danger of doing so here, but without the injured Thierry Henry there was no cutting edge at the other end, even when the younger element were introduced in the second half.

Henry should be available against the Dutch, though he will need better support than his replacement Nicolas Anelka had from the even more ineffective Karim Benzema, who is supposed to be one of the bright young things of the post-Zidane era. Patrick Vieira is also regaining fitness and France have decided to keep him in Switzerland and release the unfortunate Mathieu Flamini, their 24th man. It is a finisher they need, however, to take advantage of the good work of Franck Ribéry, the influential Bayern Munich playmaker. A total of one shot on target – admittedly, one more than their opponents managed – underlined where the weakness lay.

"Two years ago we started our [World Cup] group with two draws and we still got through," Domenech said. "We played with a bit of fear, which is understandable given that it was the first match. But there's certainly a lot more we can do in terms of our offensive play. That's clear."

Having tried a diamond midfield formation in the final friendly against Colombia, Domenech opted for a more conventional shape, to the disappointment of those who wanted to see Ribéry pushed up again in an exciting attacking triangle behind the two strikers. He stayed out on the right for the most part, as did Anelka's club-mate Florent Malouda on the left, and, apart from one run by the latter, the only threat came when the wide pair left the touchline to try something different.

Romania played everything as usual through their most gifted player, Internazionale's Cristian Chivu. Capable of some sharp exchanges in midfield, they were blunt further forward, Adrian Mutu declining to offer much direct support to the one striker, Daniel Niculae.

Bogdan Lobont in Romania's goal was at last given some work to do when forced to rush out and beat Malouda to a pass swept forward by Uefa's official man of the match, Claude Makelele. When Ribéry briefly moved inside, he won a corner on the left, took it short to Eric Abidal and crossed the return pass, which bounced up for Anelka, who headed over the bar. Ribéry twice set up Benzema, who could not find sufficient power for the shot on either occasion. From Romania there was nothing other than Niculae's 25-yard drive wide and, on the debit side, three yellow cards.

It was hardly surprising to learn that the BBC pundits had been scathing during half-time. Martin O'Neill will have been cheered up early in the second half as Malouda did what the Aston Villa manager had been imploring him to do and turned his full-back inside out before shooting just too high. Even Makelele suddenly appeared on the edge of the opposing penalty area before thinking better of such wild extravagance.

There was certainly little to worry him in his defensive role, with Jérémy Toulalan solid alongside him in Vieira's position. Makelele's former Stamford Bridge colleague William Gallas at centre-half can rarely have touched the ball so infrequently at any level, the 36-year-old Lilian Thuram tidying up on the rare occasions it was necessary. Romania, who have never beaten the French in a competitive game and will doubtless take the same tactics into their encounter with Italy at the same venue. Domenech at least tried to make things happen, sending on the young St Etienne striker Bafetimbi Gomis for a clearly disappointed Anelka, and then introducing Samir Nasri. The pattern stayed the same, although new interest was suddenly generated in Inverness, when the Caledonian Thistle's representative at the tournament, Marius Niculae, replaced Mutu for the last 10 minutes.

France (4-2-3-1): Coupet (Lyon); Sagnol (Bayern), Gallas (Arsenal), Thuram, Abidal (both Barcelona); Toulalan (Lyons), Makelele (Chelsea); Ribéry (Bayern),

Benzema (Lyons), Malouda (Chelsea); Anelka (Chelsea). Substitutes: Gomis (St Etienne) for Anelka, 72; Nasri (Marseille) for Benzema, 77.

Romania (4-3-2-1): Lobont (Dinamo); Contra (Getafe), Goian (Steaua), Tamas (Auxerre), Rat (Shakhktar Donetsk); Cocis (Lokomotiv Moscow), Radoi (Steaua), Chivu (Internazionale); Nicolita (Steaua), Mutu (Fiorentina); D Niculae (Auxerre). Substitutes: Codrea (Sienna) for Cocis, 62; M Niculae (Inverness CT) for Mutu, 78; Dica (Steaua) for Radoi, 90.

Referee: M Gonzalez (Spain).

Booked: France Sagnol; Romania Contra, Goian, D Niculae.

Man of the match: Ribéry.

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