By Chris O'Brien
June 13 2006

Manchester United forward Louis Saha was left frustrated as his France side failed to break down the hard-working Swiss, having to settle for a goalless draw. Meanwhile, on the fifth day of the World Cup finals, South Korea and Brazil both started their campaigns with three points.

Louis Saha and Ji-Sung Park were both in international action on the fourth day of the World Cup finals in Germany.

Park's South Korea built on their superb showing at the 2002 tournament with a hard-fought 2-1 win over 10-man Togo. Mohamed Kader had given the West Africans the lead, but the game hinged on the dismissal of Jean-Paul Abalo for two bookable offences and the Koreans immediately took their chance. Lee Chun-Soo converted the resulting free-kick and Ahn Jung-Hwan fired home the winner in a dramatic game.

However, it will be fellow Group G side Switzerland who will take the headlines as they frustrated 1998 winners France with a goalless draw in Stuttgart. In sweltering conditions, both teams lacked a creative edge to their game and a stalemate always looked on the cards. Debutant Franck Ribery, who was later replaced with Saha, had a great chance to score as he charged at goal minutes before the interval, but he squared to an off-form Thierry Henry who couldn't connect. Former United 'keeper Fabien Barthez had to be alert at the other end though, denying Fabien Barthez with a brilliant point-blank save. Mikael Silvestre was an unused substitute, and his team-mates will be bitterly disappointed with this result.

Amazingly, France's last World Cup goal was scored by Emmanuel Petit in 1998.

It was not only the French left frustrated by their less illustrious counterparts. Brazil had to fight for a narrow win over Croatia, with AC Milan forward Kakak netting the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time. Carlos Alberto Parreira's men are firm favourites to secure a sixth World Cup crown, but their European counterparts deserve great credit for their resolute defending which came close to securing them an unlikely point.