Roy Hodgson certainly seems to have answered some of the questions, put upon him by the critics. After England holding France 1-1 in their opener, the speculations about the team's performance have been put to rest at least for now.
After the series of injuries in the English side, and Rooney being suspended, it seemed that France would have an easy game in their opener. Even statistically it seemed that France was all over Hodgson's team, with 15 shots on target, English defense really had a tuff time.
They also made twice as many passes as the English side did.
But in the end, the match ended not quite how French would have wanted to be, in draw. Captain Steven Gerrard summed up the general satisfaction in the England camp when describing the opening 1-1 draw with Group D rivals France as "a platform" to build on.
England had a dream start when Joleon Lescott headed the ball in to goal from a Gerrand free kick in the 30th minute. But Man of the Match Samir Nasri did not let the English celebration last long as he netted one just 9 minutes after the English strike.
Even Joe Hart, the English goal keeper praised Nasri's game and said, "Samir is a clever player, we dropped off a little bit. It was a good goal and we have to concentrate on the good performance."
Teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, was also in the spotlight of the critics as he was preferred in place of Stewart Downing, and he did acknowledge Hodgson's decision of including him in the side as he got the 3,000 travelling fans on their feet as he robbed the dithering Adil Rami and almost created an opening.
Rooney was all praise for Chamberlin as he said, "Oxlade showed tonight that he's good enough for this level. He's still got a lot of learning to do but playing with experienced players he'll soon pick that up quickly."
The second half was no different as French enjoyed 65 percent of the total possession of the ball. But the three lions managed to hold their opposition, 1-1.
In hot conditions, the game gradually become less energetic, though Benzema tested Hart with a thunderous drive from 25 meters and Parker blocked an even more cracking Florent Malouda attempt.
It will but fair to say that both teams would be content with the final result.
After the series of injuries in the English side, and Rooney being suspended, it seemed that France would have an easy game in their opener. Even statistically it seemed that France was all over Hodgson's team, with 15 shots on target, English defense really had a tuff time.
They also made twice as many passes as the English side did.
But in the end, the match ended not quite how French would have wanted to be, in draw. Captain Steven Gerrard summed up the general satisfaction in the England camp when describing the opening 1-1 draw with Group D rivals France as "a platform" to build on.
England had a dream start when Joleon Lescott headed the ball in to goal from a Gerrand free kick in the 30th minute. But Man of the Match Samir Nasri did not let the English celebration last long as he netted one just 9 minutes after the English strike.
Even Joe Hart, the English goal keeper praised Nasri's game and said, "Samir is a clever player, we dropped off a little bit. It was a good goal and we have to concentrate on the good performance."
Teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, was also in the spotlight of the critics as he was preferred in place of Stewart Downing, and he did acknowledge Hodgson's decision of including him in the side as he got the 3,000 travelling fans on their feet as he robbed the dithering Adil Rami and almost created an opening.
Rooney was all praise for Chamberlin as he said, "Oxlade showed tonight that he's good enough for this level. He's still got a lot of learning to do but playing with experienced players he'll soon pick that up quickly."
The second half was no different as French enjoyed 65 percent of the total possession of the ball. But the three lions managed to hold their opposition, 1-1.
In hot conditions, the game gradually become less energetic, though Benzema tested Hart with a thunderous drive from 25 meters and Parker blocked an even more cracking Florent Malouda attempt.
It will but fair to say that both teams would be content with the final result.
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