France and Croatia are scoreless at halftime of their World Cup semifinal match in St. Denis. The match got off to a slow start, with the only excellent chance of the opening quarter-hour coming for the hosts in the fourth minute. Defender Lilian Thuram made a run up the right side and fed Stephane Guivarc’h in the right side of the box. Guivarc’h then backheeled the ball to the trailing Zinedine Zidane, whose shot went straight to Croatian keeper Drazen Ladic. France won a free kick about ten yards outside the top of the box in the 21st minute, and Guivarc’h’s blast through the wall forced a diving save from Ladic. The French won another free kick just two yards outside the area six minutes later, but Zidane’s shot bounced harmlessly off the wall. Croatia’s Davor Suker broke free on quick counters on two occasions, but lacked support that would have made his forays more dangerous. Thierry Henry came on as an early substitute for France in the 30th minute, replacing Christian Karembeu, who suffered an injured ankle. Croatia began to control more of the possession in the final third of the half, and its best chance came in the 35th minute, when Davor Suker slid a ball to Aljosa Asanovic in the box, only for the England-based player to shoot to the right of the near post. Guivarc’h headed a long ball across the top of the box to Zidane in the 41st minute, but the Juventus midfielder’s first-time volley curled wide to the right of the goal. Asanovic received the only yellow card of the half in the 45th minute.