'Les Bleus' were hoping to maintain their imperious form against an inexperienced American side and looked on course to do that in the first half.
Boasting 77 per cent possession, France were not short of chances but couldn't find that final attacking finesse to break the deadlock.
Paul Pogba, looking to reward Didier Deschamp's faith, smacked the post with a fierce effort in the opening minutes and delivered a spirited display.
However, just like his team-mates, he would go into half-time frustrated at the amount of close efforts.
Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud all could have scored but their accuracy was uncharacteristically poor.
'Les Bleus' would rue those chances when the US stole the lead just before the break with their first shot on target.
Shaquell Moore crossed the ball into the box and a poor touch by Djibril Sidibe gifted possession to Julian Green inside the area. The forward struck it first time to send the ball flying through Sidibe's legs and under Hugo Lloris into the back of the net.
Things could have been even worse for France just after the break when the US had appeared to score a second goal. Thankfully for the hosts, Bobby Wood had gone too early and was rightfully called offside by the officials.
The game was then forced into an unexpected pause when Giroud and Matt Miazga sustained serious head injuries during an aerial battle. Both had to withdraw soon after amid growing concussion fears.
However, it did allow Ousmane Dembele to enter the fray for France and his pace gave the hosts an extra edge in the second 45 minutes as they searched for an equaliser.
Mbappe came the closest as his free-kick whistled past the far post and would eventually find the target in the 78th minute.
A pin-point cut-back from Nabil Fekir found Mbappe in the box who had little trouble directing the ball into the back of the net to equalise.
The goal sparked France into life and they nearly took the lead straight after but US goalkeeper Zack Steffen managed to parry a dangerous Fekir free-kick out for a corner.
Despite late efforts for both sides, the game ended in a 1-1 draw to leave many wondering if France will be as big a threat as first thought in Russia.
Deschamps has a lot of work to do between now and their first group match against Australia on June 16.