Euro 2012—Group D, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine
France 1-1 England (first half)
Goals: Lescott (ENG) 30', Samir Nasri (FRA) 39'
Lineups
France: Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Patrice Evra, Adil Rami, Philippe Mexes, Yohan Cabaye, Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri, Florent Malouda, Alou Diarra, Karim Benzema
England: Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, James Milner, Scott Parker, Steven Gerrard (C), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck
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Julian Finney/Getty Images Halftime
So, readers, what would you do if you were one of the managers?
Should England play it safe and try for the draw? Or should they push the attack?
What about France? They seem to have the more dangerous team.
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A sampling of halftime reaction, stats and miscellany:
Dan Levy @DanLevyThinks
The England defense is set up like a foosball table #Euro12
From Opta:
Opta @OptaJean
5 - Franck Ribery has scored 3 goals and delivered 2 assists in his last 4 games with France. Kaiser.
Hehe:
Jason Davis @davisjsn
When Macca says England "need a drink", he means Scotch, right?
And finally:
Ben Gorman @Ben_Gorman
According to twitter, Hart has gone from being the worlds best keeper... To Millwalls keeper, in the space of 10 minutes
HALFTIME: FRANCE 1, ENGLAND 1
There's the whistle. Both teams score before the break.
It started slowly, but both teams had periods of superiority.
France ended the half on top, and England will have welcomed the halftime whistle.
45'—FRANCE 1, ENGLAND 1
France pushing for another before halftime.
Benzema slips behind the England defense and draws a save from Hart with a shot from a tight angle.
Great movement from France right now.
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Lots of snark on Twitter right now.
dirtytackle @BrooksDT
Harry Redknapp preparing his team talk in case France score again.
And…
Tom Kinslow @TomKinslow
One day, Samir Nasri will sign for Germany because he wants to win trophies. #StillBitter
Finally, something different:
Graham Ruthven @grahamruthven
Before kick-off Manchester City had never had a player score in the European Championships. Ever. 40 minutes later, they have two. #Euro2012
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Instant reaction to the goal:
Drew Epperley @wvhooligan
No way Hart could see that, definitely screened a good bit on it. Nasri with a hell of a strike though.
MORE ON THE GOAL
Excellent movement from France. A low pass comes to Ribery, who lays off for Nasri just outside the box on the left side.
Nasri shoots low at the near post, and the ball sneaks past Hart.
Hart probably should have done better there, but it was a good shot from Nasri.
39'—GOAL! FRANCE!
Samir Nasri equalizes for France!
Lars Baron/Getty Images 37'—FRANCE O, ENGLAND 1
Job done so far for England. Roy Hodgson's team deserves its lead, but can France respond?
35'—FRANCE CHANCE!
From the resulting free kick, Diarra powers a header on goal, and it's tipped up by Hart.
The rebound comes back to Diarra, whose second header trickles wide.
What a chance!
34'—BOOKING
England's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is booked for a foul on Mathieu Debuchy.
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Instant reaction to Lescott's goal.
The Football Ramble @FootballRamble
An English goal! We're gonna win the whole thing
From Opta:
Opta Sports @OptaJoe
6 - Six of the 16 goals scored so far at Euro 2012 have been headers. Bonce.
And finally:
Alexi Lalas
@AlexiLalas
- ✔
Set pieces. In any language, in any country. #Euro2012
MORE ON THE GOAL
Gerrard's free kick is excellent, an outswinger moving away from Lloris.
Joleon Lescott, a central defender, slips away from his marker and wins a free header. No mistake on the finish.
30'—GOAL! ENGLAND!
Joleon Lescott heads England in front from a Steven Gerrard free kick!
28'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
France's Mathieu Debuchy pushes forward from his right back position and forces a stop out of Cobra Kai Joe Hart.
Comfortable save there for the England keeper.
Scott Heavey/Getty Images 26'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
The "cagey" play continues.
England called offside. Then a bit of boom ball from both teams. A few punts.
Come on, fellas.
22'—INJURY
England's Danny Welbeck receives attention on the pitch.
Ian and Macca are calling this opening "cagey."
How about another tweet?
"Cagey" means "this sucks."
19'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
Cobra Kai Joe Hart races out to collect a back header from Glen Johnson.
The match has slowed down a bit…
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Instant reaction to Milner's miss:
Tom Adams @tomEurosport
Milner was too English there. Should have gone down like those pesky foreigners, or Ashley Young.
16'—FRANCE SHOT!
Yohan Cabaye tests Joe Hart from 25 yards.
Hart saves well low and to his left.
Nice effort from both players.
Clive Mason/Getty Images 15'—ENGLAND CHANCE!
James Milner slips behind the France defense after through ball from Ashley Young.
Milner rounds Lloris but can't steady himself. He shoots wide, but it should be 1-0 England.
What a miss!
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I knew they were up to something…
louis hamwey @thecriterionman
#England doing an excellent job of luring France into a false sense of security. #Euro2012
Scott Heavey/Getty Images 11'—FRANCE SHOT!
Samir Nasri takes a low shot from just outside the box on the left side.
The ball rolls wide of the near post, but not too far off.
10'—FRANCE COUNTER
Yohan Cabaye frees Franck Ribery with a through ball to the left side.
Ribery bursts into the box but can't get off a shot.
Corner to France, and it's dealt with easily by England.
Scott Heavey/Getty Images 9'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
England still with the better part of possession, but they haven't troubled France at all.
Tight game so far, with England edging it slightly.
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Already so bleak?
England's fans in Donbass Arena: 'We're going home in a coffin' #euro2012
— daniel taylor (@DTguardian) June 11, 2012
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Glad we cleared that up…
Three minutes in and we've established the 'home' side is actually Russia... (judging by the chants, anyway) #Euro2012
— Dominic Fifield (@domfifield) June 11, 2012
5'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
Benzema wreaks some havoc in the England box and wins a corner for France.
Samir Nasri takes it, and England defend it well.
Ian Walton/Getty Images 3'—OX GETS GOING
Oxlade-Chamberlain steals a French pass and tears toward the goal. His pass is off the mark, but that's a good start from the 18-year-old.
2'—FRANCE 0, ENGLAND 0
England with all the possession early. Ashley Young plays Danny Welbeck behind the defense, but Welbeck is whistled for offside.
Any English fans getting sick yet?
Kickoff
England start the match.
Almost time…
France wearing all blue and moving left to right on my screen.
England wearing all white and moving right to left.
The captains meet at midfield.
Pregame
The teams have emerged from the tunnel. Time for the national anthems.
Clive Mason/Getty Images Team news
France will line up pretty much how everyone expected. Karim Benzema leads the attack, and Franck Ribery will menace the wing.
England boss Roy Hodgson, on the other hand, sprung a surprise, handing a start to 18-year-old Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
How's that for the conservative Mr. Hodgson?
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Latest on the England support.
Uefa said yesterday only 724 tickets left but still an awful lot of empty seats here in Donetsk and only 10 minutes to kick off.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) June 11, 2012
Pregame
Michael Ballack says England always has high expectations. Yes, that's true, but probably not as much this time.
The camera cuts to Ian Darke and Steve McManaman. Ian complains about the "sweltering" temperatures in Donetsk.
It's 86 degrees Fahrenheit with 29 percent humidity. So, in other words, it's a pleasant spring day down here in the South.
Pregame
The pregame ESPN telecast features a new studio host. Bob Ley is looking much better this morning.
Pregame
The ESPN telecast finally begins, only 15 minutes or so before kickoff.
Gotta love that extensive pregame coverage.
Team news
Big news for England today, with 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain starting in the midfield.
Some aren't impressed:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's probable starting position tonight: twitpic.com/9va1e7 (@RichardTeague)
— Stupid Football (@StupidFootball) June 11, 2012
France lineup
Here it is:
France (as expected): Lloris, Debuchy, Evra, Rami, Mexès, Cabaye, Ribéry, Nasri, Malouda, Diarra, Benzema
— Tom Adams (@tomEurosport) June 11, 2012
Pregame
Not to leave out France:
21 - France are unbeaten in 21 games (W15 D6), currently the longest unbeaten run of all teams at EURO 2012. Candidates.
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) June 11, 2012
But…
7 - France have failed to win any of their last 7 games at major tournaments, equalling their longest run, from EURO 60 to WC 78. Sacrebleu.
— Opta (@OptaJean) June 11, 2012
Pregame
I'll have the France lineup for you as soon as it's out. In the meantime, here are some pregame tweets from inside the stadium.
So jealous of this one…
The view from here. Media position inside The Donbass Arena, Donetsk. yfrog.com/nx9z4apj
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) June 11, 2012
Not so much on this one…
This picture from the FA's @StuartMawhinney shows why England players need insect repellent twitpic.com/9uyiev #euro2012
— daniel taylor (@DTguardian) June 11, 2012
The England lineup is out. Here it is, via the FA's official Twitter account:
#England team confirmed v France - Hart, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole, Milner, Parker, Gerrard (C), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Young, Welbeck #EC
— TheFA.com (@thefadotcom) June 11, 2012
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