France boss Didier Deschamps refused to criticise his side after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Switzerland.
Dimitri Payet and Paul Pogba, twice, hit the woodwork as the hosts topped Group A at Euro 2016 despite drawing a blank in Lille.
They had already reached the last 16 following two previous wins and Deschamps, who made five changes to his team, did not feel they could have done much more.
He told UEFA.com: "Switzerland keeper (Yann) Sommer was the man of the match and, when the goalkeeper is man of the match, that shows we had chances.
"I know the players are well aware that we can improve in a number of different areas. That said, but for a great goalkeeper and a few centimetres, or being more clinical, we could have scored goals.
"There was a time when people said we weren't very good defensively but at least we've stabilised that - without compromising on our forward threat.
"Positives? The results. We got through, scored goals and created chances, and resolved a number of things defensively in a short space of time. There was a lot of focus on defending set pieces. In terms of our control in attacking play, we can always do better, but I'm pleased with what the players are doing."
Switzerland struggled to create clear chances but should have had a penalty in injury time when Bacary Sagna pulled Blerim Dzemaili in the area.
And Swiss coach Vladamir Petkovic believes his side could still improve ahead of the knock out stages.
"We played well and held firm. We're through, we can rest up and it's for other sides to push to play against us," he told UEFA.com.
"All three of our potential opponents are very good; we played Poland in a friendly and they're a good side, nothing needs to be said about Germany and Northern Ireland are a surprise. We're relaxed; it's a knockout match.
"(I'm pleased) with the whole team; when the team is compact, we perform much better. We saw that from the second game onwards - and if we cut out individual mistakes, we can do even better. Many sides are based on good defensive work and playing very compactly. That was the case today."
Source: PA
