france nil switzerland nil

yes, henry could have finished better (but not much). yes, the wingers and zidane needed to get the balls through to henry up front (but they came pretty close). yes, the french got some good goalkeeping from barthez. but what all the commentators are ignoring is that the swiss are VERY good in defense. and they were very good today.

they took the sting out of henry's finishing by man marking him with phillipe senderos (and let's not forget that he faces henry 5 days a week in training, so he knows what to do); they took the sting out of the french crosses by closing things down fast and hard; and they very nearly scored on barthez twice.

switzerland played well, and they have been playing well since the qualifiers began. they even drew italy in teh build up last week. this is a GOOD swiss team. the french didn't suck, they were played hard and well by a tireless young team. so if you are a french fan don't despair, this is not a bad result, and if you are a neutral do not take for granted what the foolish pundits are saying (particularly the canadian ones). switzerland played hard and ground out a draw. france is not in trouble and they did play well -- just not well enough.