England fought their way to an honourable draw against France in Donetsk, taking the lead through Joeleon Lescott after half-an-hour but being pegged back by a Nasri strike ten minutes later.
It was difficult to comprehend the searing heat watching in chilly, wet England but it wasn't hard to see how drained some of the players were towards the end and it will be interesting to see how the teams cope in this group if the heatwave continues; one BBC radio pundit saying he'd never experienced anything like it outside of Spain or Brazil.
Roy Hodgson surprised everyone by including Arsenal's Oxlade-Chamberlain to start - he was apparently told just a few hours before kick-off - and going with Manchester United's Danny Wellbeck up front. Neither player disgraced themselves with the Arsenal winger looking like he should have a good international future, his speed sure to cause problems to a lot of defences even if it wasn't used to great effect in this game due to the Manager's game plan.
Much will be made of the obvious differences in style - of which more tomorrow, by the way! - but, for the most part, the French passing and patient build-up foundered on a solid England back-four. Well, quelle surprise! The men in white had chances of their own however and, of all the opportunities that Les Bleus will point too, none was better than the one squandered by James Milner after he had been played beyond the square French defence by an excellent through ball from Ashley Young. Milner rounded the keeper but shot wide with the goal gaping and replays showing the English wide man had enough time to steady himself and shoot with either foot. I didn't feel much was made of it on TV but at international level, chances like this really need to be taken.
England didn't need to wait too much longer to go ahead though. Captain Gerrard curled in an excellent free-kick that had to be retaken as the referee wasn't ready, and Lescott got beyond the defence to head home. Cue wild scenes in most pubs across the UK - for reasons I won't explain I ended up in the Bell and Gate in Collier Row, Romford - echoed shortly after when Joe Hart made a brilliant point-blank save from Diarra.
It looked like it might be England's night but France promptly burst the balloon on 39 minutes when Nasri scored low to Hart's near post following intricate passing involving Evra and Ribery on the edge of the penalty box. It looked as if the small area beyond Hart's hand should really have been covered by the Manchester City stopper but he explained after he didn't see the shot through the bodies, something indicating England's propensity for defending too deep sometimes and certainly at this stage of the match where they needed to consolidate their lead.
The goal livened up France though and England spent pretty much the next 15 minutes defending while the men in blue shirts passed back and forth amongst themselves in front of them. Benezema looked dangerous with a couple of attempts but the blocks and headers out came thick and fast and France didn't really create any clear-cut openings, the half ending with England looking solid but seemingly needing to re-adjust if they weren't too spend the second half defending.
I thought England looked better organised in the second half and although the statistics suggest that England's goal was peppered with shots there was little to worry the solid centre-back pairing bar watching the build up play in front of them. England had possession of their own but too often gave the ball away to put themselves under pressure again and, this really being a fairly new outfit under Hodgson, you have to wonder if the English ability to give the ball away isn't inbred somehow. There was a period just after half-time when the ball was passed backwards across the defence and into the midfield area for about twenty passes, but you could almost feel the English tension rise as little opened up before them. As inevitably as rain and a penchant for Fish 'n' Chips, the English desire won again and Lescott lofted the ball forward, saw it lost to a blue shirt and started to defend again. I actually think sometimes we're happier defending as it gives us an opportunity to be resolute and determined (although I know some are uncomfortable with my blanket assessment of national characteristics).
England complained about several poor decisions from referee Nicola Rizzoli who waved away countless appeals for what seemed clear fouls by the French and Hodgson alluded to this post-match when talking about several build-up plays that produced nothing due to the fact the whistle wasn't blown. It certainly did nothing to help England who often had to funnel back in the oppressive heat when the ball switched play.
With poor Scott Parker obviously flagging, Jordan Henderson was bought on - something which, for me anyway, only underlines the paucity of the available players following injuries - with Defoe replacing Wellbeck to little effect and Walcott entering late on. I thought the Arsenal man should have been given an opportunity earlier as it was obvious some of the French players were suffering in the heat too and Walcott's pace might have eased the nerves as England defended stoutly, seemingly happy with the draw as the game came to a close.
Manager, players and most fans seemed happy with the draw and, as it's difficult to imagine any way that England could have eased a win out of this, this can only be viewed in terms of group qualification. England will need to be more pro-active in terms of chasing a game when they come up against Sweden and Ukraine but I'm satisfied with this result and the overall performance.
The later game involving Sweden and the host nation ended with the Ukraine running out winners thanks to two goals from national hero Shevchenko after Ibrahimovic had put the Swedes ahead. It looked a good game - indeed there hasn't really been a poor match all tournament yet - but, sadly, a combination of a lot of travelling and a pint or two of John Smiths meant I dozed off and missed most of the action. Hey! At least I'm honest...!
Ukraine now top the group and England may find them a difficult proposition if they need to win in their last game, however on this showing, Hodgson's men should be looking to get something from Sweden although it all looks too close to call currently.
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