England beat hosts, top their group, avoid Spain and have growing belief they might be able to go all the way
1 So what happens next?
If there was unexpected reason for optimism before, it feels far more justified now. England had entered this contest fretting over whether they would emerge from Group D into the knock-out stages at all, yet they ended it having beaten a host nation for the first time since 1954, topped the section, avoided the reigning world and European champions Spain in the last eight, and with belief growing that their challenge might not be as unlikely as first envisaged after all. Italy await in Kiev on Sunday, not Spain here in Donetsk the day before, and while the Azzurri represent awkward opponents, England are starting to feel like a team worth avoiding themselves. There was resilience to admire here, even if they sat back too much prior to the interval and relied on a slice of luck after it to preserve their lead, but the team-work is improving with every match. Theirs appears a tight unit, and senior players are making their presence felt in all the right ways. Roy Hodgson will continue to preach realism, quite rightly, but he has now won four of his five games in charge. This is all unfamiliarly positive.
2 Time for pace on those goal-line technology tests
After the furore in South Africa, when Frank Lampard's shot against Germany had cannoned down over the line only for the linesman to wave play on, good fortune fell with England at the Donbass Arena. With the English leading, and one of the co-hosts looking suspiciously offside in the buildup, Marko Devic had wriggled through with his shot looping up from Joe Hart's attempt to block to arc into the goalmouth, only for John Terry to recover and hack the ball away. Yet the clearance, as replays showed, was made from about a foot behind the goal-line. The official behind the goal did nothing, the linesman ignored the appeals of the Ukrainian players and support, and the referee Viktor Kassai duly waved play on. It is an all too familiar story. Football's law-maker, the International Football Association Board, has at least approved two companies to take part in a second phase of goal-line technology testing and a final decision on the introduction of a system of cameras will come next month. But it will be made too late for Devic and Ukraine.
3 Wayne Rooney's return
The Manchester United striker's scriptwriter had spent all that time over the past month wisely after all. Having laboured through a horrible first half of heavy touches and welling desperation to feel the football there was perhaps an inevitability that it would be Wayne Rooney, unmarked at the far post, nodding in Steven Gerrard's deflected cross just after the interval. Up to then, this had felt like a wake-up call. Rooney may have trained, but this was a player with 36 minutes of football to his name in a month, not the forward who was supposed to provide the instant "Pele effect". His header wide just before the half-hour, from Ashley Young's delicious cross, had been a flashback to shoddy form in South Africa. But the ring-rustiness was to be expected, and his instinct remained intact. His last goal at a major finals had come almost eight years ago, against Croatia in the group stage of Euro 2004. As Sven Goran Eriksson had said in the buildup: "Rooney doesn't change everything, but he changes a lot. He's the star."
4 Gerrard is growing into the England captaincy
Gerrard had come into this tournament as his manager's first choice as captain, and that added responsibility is drawing the best from the 32-year-old even when his brief is more deep-lying than that he enjoys at Liverpool. His supply line has already reaped England rewards in each of the games: it was his free-kick that Joleon Lescott thumped in against the French, and his wonderful cross from deep that Andy Carroll thundered beyond Andreas Isaksson last Friday. Here, after a scorching first half, he tricked Yevhen Konoplyanka as Ukraine lulled immediately after the interval and fizzed in a low centre that, once deflected, squirmed through Andriy Pyatov. Rooney duly converted at the far post and England breathed again. Admittedly, Gerrard would have cursed an inability to exert more firs‑half control but he looks fit, focused and confident at present and, eventually, his authority shines through. He is a man seeking to make amends for events in South Africa two years ago, a tournament that briefly prompted him to consider his future at this level. Hodgson had name-checked him as one of England's key players in the buildup; his form justifies all the hype.
5 Farewell Shevchenko
In the end, the greatest Ukrainian footballer bowed out with nothing more than a 20-minute cameo and a booking. How Andriy Shevchenko and his coach Oleg Blokhin must regret the kicks sustained by the 35-year-old forward to his left knee in the opening two group games, the swelling on the joint restricting him initially to the bench here. By the time he entered to gain his 111th cap, Ukraine trailed and were playing catch-up in the game and the group. He still remained their likeliest source of a goal, diving in at the near-post in search of a flick at a corner which might have yielded his 49th international goal – no other compatriot in the current squad boasts more than eight goals – but he deserved to depart on a more upbeat note than this. The former Milan and Chelsea striker had indicated prior to the finals that this would represent his last involvement in international football and he departed with a booking for a poor challenge on Ashley Young and retaining his record of having scored four of his country's seven goals in major tournaments. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
