Euro 2012: days 4 and 5 - Highs and Lows

DONETSK, UKRAINE – JUNE 11: Steven Gerrard of England heads the ball during the UEFA EURO 2012 group D match between France and England at Donbass Arena on June 11, 2012 in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Day 4, saw teams from Group D in action, and it was a great night for football. England kicked off the evening in a hot Donbass Arena against a solid France side. England were on the back-foot for most part of the game and looked content with a draw.

I thought Scott Parker and Captain Steven Gerrard had an excellent game, they put in some superb blocks, as well as supplying the ball for the two front men and Manchester United duo Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck, so for me, that was definitely a highlight.

However, I feel Welbeck could have impacted the game more, he looked a little cautious to me. Young winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was absolutely fantastic, and should be a definite starter against Sweden on Friday.
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France were very disappointing. Frank Ribery was marked out of the game well by Milner and Johnson, and Nasri was limited with the number of chances he had, despite scoring the equaliser for France. Striker Karim Benzema was also non-existent, and I think England must have felt that they deserved a win, which would have been possible.

The only disappointment was that England had only one shot on target, though Lescott converted it into a goal. They need to intimidate their opponents more.

KIEV, UKRAINE – JUNE 11

The next game in the group was a feisty affair. This game was truly a game of two halves, the first half was fairly dead, but the second half ended on a high. Sweden took the lead through Ibrahimovich, but veteran player and captain Shevchenko sent the Ukrainians into the lead.

Sweden had numerous chances to claw back a draw, but it just wouldn’t happen for them.

I think England have to be very wary about the strengths of both sides, and not get complacent in their last two group games.

Day 5 of Euro 2012 saw Greece take on Petr Cechs Czech Republic. The Czech’s came out as 2-1 winners, but the Chelsea ‘keeper handed Greece a lifeline due to lack of communication with his defence. It was disappointing to watch such an experienced goalkeeper flop at a prestigious tournament.

But Greece were quite poor, and didn’t play the same way they did against Poland. Poland also played yesterday evening, against a Russia side coming off of a 4-1 victory against the Czechs. The game resulted in a 1-1 draw.

It was a fine game, and one of the best goals so far in the tournament was scored by Blaszczykowski, it was an absolute bullet and was spectacular to see.

Russia did look like the same side that won their first Euro 2012 game against Czech Republic, and captain Andrey Arshavin just couldn’t find his way around the Polish defence.

 

Written by Adam May
Follow me on Twitter @Amay132