Should we be pleased with the result? You bet, says Jake Lane, so long as we follow it up with a win against Sweden.
All in all this was a good result. A draw against a much-fancied team and one of the favourites to win the competition.
Going into the game, the expectations for England at this tournament were as low as I can remember; a new manager who has been in the job for two minutes, a questionable squad, no Wayne Rooney for the first two games and Jordan Henderson on the plane.
This was only Roy Hodgson’s third game in charge but after two one-nil wins in warm-up games against Norway and Belgium, it was clear what style Hodgson was going to employ with his team.
Disciplined, controlled and absorbing – three strengths we showed in abundance against the French. Our back four gave an assured display to be proud of, although were arguably too deep to allow Samir Na$ri the time and space at the edge of the area before squeezing his effort past Joe Hart.
Unlike Wojciech Szczęsny who was sent off during Poland’s opening draw against Greece, Joe Hart played as if he had been in many a international tournament as he gave a solid and commanding performance yesterday evening – it will be performances like this which will be key for England if they are going to progress in this tournament.
In the absence of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck led the line exceptionally well and looked older than his years in terms of experience whilst Alex Oxlade Chamberlain was menacing and looked liked causing les Bleus problems early on.
A lot must be said for the work rate of both skipper Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, although at times they looked overworked with the 1984 and 2000 European Champions deciding to play three in the middle.
So England still haven’t won their first game at a European Championship but against Laurent Blanc’s men, they put in a shift which the players and coaching staff can be more than pleased with – a shift which created going forward and a shift which contained the French flair of a side who have not lost for 22 games now.
Now England must take the game to Sweden on Friday night, a fixture the Three Lions have won only once since 1968 – a one-nil Wembley win back in November last year thanks to an own goal – a friendly which turned out to be Fabio Capello’s last game in charge.
image: © philosophyfootball
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
