The Back of the Net boys report on England's 1-1 draw with France
France and England finished with honours even in Donetsk as the teams played out a 1-1 draw that left everyone completely satisfied, and also thoroughly unsatisfied.
Aware that a defeat could prove incredibly costly in what promises to be a tight group, both Laurent Blanc and Roy Hodgson began cautiously, leaving little that could be seized on by the other sideâÂÂs players, or their own fans.
âÂÂThe game left me absolutely delighted,â said Hodgson afterwards, echoing a widely-held view that was shared by precisely nobody. âÂÂWe had to stop France from playing by making the 90 minutes as disappointing as possible. I think we achieved that spectacularly.âÂÂ
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Laurent Blanc expressed similar sentiments. âÂÂWe would have taken that beforehand,â he said. âÂÂThat game was exactly what I wanted, though I wish I hadnâÂÂt had to watch it.âÂÂ
Joleon Lescott gave England the lead after 30 minutes by throwing his face in the way of a Steven Gerrard cross, but Samir Nasri equalised just nine minutes later after being given time and space to control the ball, turn, pick his spot, and tw*t it as hard as possible.
There was little further action, and although neither English nor French fans will be satisfied with the encounter, each set of supporters will grudgingly accept that it was perfectly satisfactory.
âÂÂWe were second favourites coming into the game, but we gave the other side very little to cheer about, which our fans will certainly celebrate,â the official England and France Supportersâ Associations said in a joint statement this morning.
âÂÂAfter all, this vaguely mediocre yet hopeful start is already a huge improvement on that nightmarish debacle two years ago in South Africa.âÂÂ
More match reports from Back of the Net:Fairytale for Shevchenko as he scores twice, kills wolf, rescues princess
Torres performance vindicates Spain decision to play with no strikers Ireland defeated as every chance somehow falls to Keith AndrewsPortugal lull Germany into a real sense of security'We're ranked ninth in the world,' squeak plucky Danes
During the Euros, Back of the Net will tweet live during the match.
Follow the commentary at http://twitter.com/backofthenetFFT
