Group D England v Ukraine & Sweden v France

[MooseBreath]

Our defence has looked shaky in the last two games. We were good today when it came to backs to the wall, scrambling the ball away, but a solid defensive performance would never have invited so much pressure. Same as against Sweden, only they were slightly better going forward and scored twice. We'll need to play as well defensively, and better going forward than we did against France to avoid a drubbing against Italy.

[Guest ttfn]

Make you own luck as some people would say

As if we got a dodgy decision in our favour.

The bigger error was the linesman not spotting Milevskiy offside. That wasn't even remotely a close call, whereas at least there were only inches in the goal-line call.

[purpleronnie]

Its a great achievement to win the group, anything else is a bonus.

[Guest ttfn]

Hart 7

Johnson 7

Terry 8

Lescott 7

Cole 8

Milner 6

Gerrard 8

Parker 6

Young 6.5

Rooney 6

Welbeck 5

[Haydos]

Would just like to say (because he rarely gets credit) Terry was an absolute rock tonight. Won his headers and challenges and was in the right place every time. Gerrard was key as well, didn't have anyone to play with until 60+ mins though having had Milner and Parker either side of him.

[HEGGSY]

INGERRRRLLLLLLAAAAANNNNNDDDDDD!!!!!

[Guest shearfox]

The best I have ever seen Gerrard in a England shirt, looks every bit world class... Just that moment of brilliance you expect from a top player, glad he is showing some of the form he shows for Liverpool.

[Tielemans63]

Shit game though wasn't it? Bloody awful.

[Charl91]

Hart 7

Johnson 7

Terry 8

Lescott 7

Cole 8

Milner 6

Gerrard 8

Parker 6

Young 6.5

Rooney 6

Welbeck 5

I would rate them similar, though would also give Lescott 8, and switch Rooney and Welbecks score. Rooney had an easy tap in, but was dreadful most of the game. Welbeck didn't do much this game, but what I like about him is that he rarely loses possesion of the ball and he closes down well.

Really not a fan of Parker. No creativity at all and seems to be scared to have possesion of it. Milner has been a donkey this tournament, but he is out of position - would much rather have him in CM then parker.

Would just like to say (because he rarely gets credit) Terry was an absolute rock tonight. Won his headers and challenges and was in the right place every time. Gerrard was key as well, didn't have anyone to play with until 60+ mins though having had Milner and Parker either side of him.

^ This. I normally hate Terry, but he was class. Played some beautiful balls too. Gerrard has been our most consistent performer, I make that an assist in every game now.

[Jaspa]

Their Head Coach is saying that the ball is '50cm' over the line, then he challenged a reporter to a fist fight outside

[Haydos]

On the subject of dodgy decisions....Didn't the linesman fail to spot around 3 Ukraine offside decisions (including one in the build up to the shot that did(n't) go in?

Add to that a string of yellows in the first hour including a definite booking for Tymoshchuk around 10 minutes in.

They really can't complain.

[shen]

The best I have ever seen Gerrard in a England shirt, looks every bit world class... Just that moment of brilliance you expect from a top player, glad he is showing some of the form he shows for Liverpool.

What moment of brilliance? The cross that was deflected three times before reaching Rooney?

[Jaspa]

What moment of brilliance? The cross that was deflected three times before reaching Rooney?

He turned his man inside out, showed real energy and left the guy on the floor

Delivered in a hard to deal with, fast cross that got the only goal of the game

Thats quite brilliant

[shen]

He turned his man inside out, showed real energy and left the guy on the floor

Delivered in a hard to deal with, fast cross that got the only goal of the game

Thats quite brilliant

Fair enough if you class it as brilliant. It was a nice piece of skill, but I would expect a player of his calibre to be able to whip in a decent cross (which, let's be fair, should have been dealt with quite comfortably by Pyatov). Now Welbeck's winner against Sweden was what I would call brilliant. Outrageous instinctive reaction

[Finnegan]

I am absolutely ****ing delighted that France had a mare and you won the group.

The prospect of watching England play Spain just blew my mind, to be honest.

The single most boring team in the tournament without the ball versus the most boring team in the tournament with the ball. It could have gone 240 minutes without a goal and 96% Spain possession.

[Mack]

I listened to 5 live after the game and was astounded by the amount of people phoning up to have a right moan.

These people need a reality check.

For the first time in the 34 odd years I can remember watching England we have accepted we are not god's gift to the game and are playing a strategy to get us the required results.

So far it's worked, we have just won our group.

I for one am delighted with the work that Hodgson and the team have done so far.

For me the unity and desire of the group has the same feeling to it as 90 & 96.

Maybe the doubters would rather see something more akin to 2010??

[Babylon]

I listened to 5 live after the game and was astounded by the amount of people phoning up to have a right moan.

These people need a reality check.

For the first time in the 34 odd years I can remember watching England we have accepted we are not god's gift to the game and are playing a strategy to get us the required results.

So far it's worked, we have just won our group.

I for one am delighted with the work that Hodgson and the team have done so far.

For me the unity and desire of the group has the same feeling to it as 90 & 96.

Maybe the doubters would rather see something more akin to 2010??

Amen.

[Ross-Kemp]

How can people moan about Parker ? He has been outstanding so far, does a lot of work off the ball, he takes up the right positions and isnt affraid of sticking his body on the line.

[davieG]

I listened to 5 live after the game and was astounded by the amount of people phoning up to have a right moan.

These people need a reality check.

For the first time in the 34 odd years I can remember watching England we have accepted we are not god's gift to the game and are playing a strategy to get us the required results.

So far it's worked, we have just won our group.

I for one am delighted with the work that Hodgson and the team have done so far.

For me the unity and desire of the group has the same feeling to it as 90 & 96.

Maybe the doubters would rather see something more akin to 2010??

Perhaps a reminder of this would help, failing to get out of the Group Stage by losing to the host nation.

Twenty years ago this week, on 17 June 1992, Gary Lineker played his last game for England. Topically, it was a European Football Championship game against Sweden.

Sweden won 2-1, preventing England from progressing beyond the group stage. When England manager Graham Taylor substituted Lineker for his old Leicester City strike-partner Alan Smith, then of Arsenal, in the 60th minute, he deprived Gary the opportunity to equal the all-time goal-scoring record of 49 goals for England set by Bobby Charlton. After the game, Taylor was castigated by the tabloid press with the famous heading 'Swedes 2, Turnips 1'.

It might have turned out differently for Gary who, along with Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, is one of only three Leicester City players who became genuine England legends. All three are in the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame. Had he not been substituted, or had England won the game as had looked likely at one stage, and progressed further in the competition, Lineker would have added to his 80 England caps. Although he hadn't scored in his last five internationals, the odds would have been on the Leicester market trader's son scoring his elusive 49th goal for England.

The 1992 European Football Championship (it wasn't called the 'Euros' until 1996) was played in Sweden. There were eight qualifiers organised into two groups of four. Sweden, Denmark, France and England were in one group. Holland, Germany, C.I.S (the successor state to the recently collapsed USSR, commonly known as Russia) and Scotland were in the other.

Yugoslavia had qualified but they were not allowed to take part due to the war in that country which was tearing it apart and which led to its ultimate collapse as a nation state. Their place was taken by Denmark, who, with Peter Schmeichel in goal, went on to surprise everyone by beating the newly-unified Germany in the final, thereby winning the tournament.

Thirty-one-year-old Gary Lineker was by far the most experienced player in the England squad. He was also the captain. The almost untried rookie of the squad was the 21-year-old Alan Shearer. Another striker in the England party was Arsenal's Alan Smith. Smith and Lineker had been absolutely key players in the Leicester City sides in the 1980s. Each had played over 200 games for Leicester, with Lineker scoring 103 goals for the City with Smith adding another 84. While playing together for Leicester in the three seasons between 1982 and 1985, they plundered an amazing 122 goals between them in the top division and in cup matches, 77 of them coming from Gary.

In the 1992 Finals, England drew their first two games 0-0 against Denmark and France. Lineker played in both games, partnering Smith in the first and Shearer in the second. To progress to the semi-finals they ideally needed to beat Sweden in their third game, which was played at the Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm, in front of a 30,000 home crowd rooting for Sweden.

It started well for England. In the fourth minute, Lineker crossed from the right for David Platt to score with a right-foot volley from just outside the area. England then wasted several chances to extend their lead.

Sweden did not equalise until the 51st minute, when Jan Eriksson scored his second goal of the tournament. From the edge of the area he headed in a corner kick from the left. This completely changed the atmosphere in the stadium, which became a sea of blue and yellow. Sweden began to dominate the game.

In the 60th minute, Lineker was substituted, to be replaced by Smith. He walked off with dignity, but looked less than happy. He took off his captain's armband, shook his ex-Leicester team mate's hand and took his tracksuit top. Everyone knew that if England didn't progress to the semi-finals, this would be a doubly unhappy ending to his illustrious England career. Not only would England be knocked out of the tournament, Gary would not equal Bobby Charlton's record goal tally for England.

And so it proved to be. In the 82nd minute, Sweden scored the winning goal. It was a brilliant, finely-worked goal. The build-up cut through the heart of the England defence. Klas Ingesson passed to Tomas Brolin, who passed to Martin Dahlin, who returned it to Brolin, whose instant flick shot from 18 yards out comprehensively beat Chris Woods in the England goal. It was a superb and thoroughly deserved winner.

Graham Taylor's decision to substitute Lineker, who was not only England's captain and most experienced player but also their top-scorer, at a time when they desperately needed a goal, led to him being slaughtered by the tabloid press. Underneath the headline 'Swedes 2 Turnips 1', a picture of Taylor's face had a turnip superimposed onto it, creating an image that lives on to this day.

This vilification of Taylor might have caused Lineker some satisfaction. However, nothing could compensate for the fact that England were out of thetournament or that the England career of one of Leicester City's most famous players ended 20 years ago this week in such frustrating and questionable circumstances.

[martyn]

How can people moan about Parker ? He has been outstanding so far, does a lot of work off the ball, he takes up the right positions and isnt affraid of sticking his body on the line.

I think he's been poor, but I do feel a little bit dirty criticising him too much considering his injury probems coming into the tournament.

Don't think he's been protecting the space between the back 4 and midfield particularly well, haven't seen him make too many interceptions and his work on the ball sub-par (too many touches, giving the ball away etc). Yes he does plenty of running and has managed to block some crosses and shots but then again, that's the issue. These attributes are lauded by us as a nation, and his faults glossed over because of it.

[Corky]

Parker is just average, gives the ball away a lot, gets caught out of position, and these blocks usually come after conceding possession.

Barry is almost laughed at, while Parker is lauded, yet Barry is better with the ball and also has a better shot on him.

[BlueSi13]

Excellent result though we did make it hard for ourselves a little. I said before the tournament that if this team was able to make it to the quarter final then it should be seen as a huge achievement, winning the group is something i never expected, huge credit must go to Roy Hodgson for making us hard to beat, solid, organised, with a little bit of flair when needed and instilling a real team ethic, something previous ("better") England teams have really struggled to understand.

But now the real test is here, England will NEVER be considered a footballing superpower again until we take on the top nations and knock them out. Italy will be a huge undertaking for us as their recent record is light years above ours, they are also the team we have weakest record against. Still, we haven't played them in a long time so both teams are going into a little bit of the unknown. I think we as a nation should just enjoy watching us have another go, win or lose i have seen enough from our younger players to suggest we can certainly improve in the coming years.

Also, really don't understand why people are having a go at Parker, the cover he gives the back 4 has been truly immense, as well as providing an excellent foil for Gerrard to roam. I don't think i've ever seen Gerrard play this well consistently for England before and i'd wager the freedom Parker gives him is a big reason for that. I can certainly understand people's gripes about Young and Milner however, but perhaps its a tactics issue rather than individual performance.

[ScouseFox]

YEahhhhhhhhhhhh

I'm gonna try and find that post where I said JT was still one of the best CBs in the world and the lack of Gary Cahill at the tournament was no big deal at all because Terry is much better. The guy's been brilliant so far and that goal line clearance was sensational.

[ADK]

We were totally awful. Accordng to sky we had 43% possesion.

Ukraine had a ton of chances we are just lucky that their strikers lack both pace and skill.

Ukraine looked like a poor championship side and we were nearly beaten by them.

Rooney was dreadful, worse he seemed to make Wellbeck have a poor game too, milner was bad.

Playing like that we will get comfortably beaten by Italy.

[ScouseFox]

We were totally awful. Accordng to sky we had 43% possesion.

Ukraine had a ton of chances we are just lucky that their strikers lack both pace and skill.

Ukraine looked like a poor championship side and we were nearly beaten by them.

Rooney was dreadful, worse he seemed to make Wellbeck have a poor game too, milner was bad.

Playing like that we will get comfortably beaten by Italy.

All that and we won, topped the group and Hodgson still hasn't lost a game as our manager! :englandsmile4wf: :englandsmile4wf: