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LENS. – A much-changed France team was held to a goalless draw by African soccer champions the Ivory Coast in a friendly in the northern city of Lens on Tuesday night.The Ivorians came closest to breaking the deadlock at a packed Stade Bollaert-Delelis in the 11th minute when a fierce strike by the Basel left-back Adama Traore smashed against the post and Salomon Kalou converted the rebound, only for the offside flag to deny the Hertha Berlin striker.

France struggled to create chances and were denied what would have been a record 14th victory in a calendar year having equalled their previous best performance, set in 2003, with a 2-1 win over Sweden in World Cup qualifying last Friday.

It was a flat finish to a good year for Didier Deschamps’ side which featured just the one defeat – the 1-0 extra-time loss to Portugal in the final of Euro 2016 – and jeers greeted the final whistle. – AFP.