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Here come England! Yes, after a three-day wait, here they come! But tenterhooks are so 1996: nobody's expecting very much from them at all. Oh. Gotta love the electric buzz of major international football tournaments!
England go into this event with their lowest expectations ahead of any tournament since Euro 92, perhaps ever. Which is kind of fair enough: they're not a particularly exciting proposition, Fabio Capello having decided the only way ahead for this shower is to park the bus and give out like the Greeks in 2004, a tactic the new man Roy Hodgson is in no way minded to deviate from. Still, no expectation means pressure off, which has in turn led to talk of a serene run to the semis. So... pressure's very much on, lads! Don't let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working in a pressure-free environment pass you by!
What a start they've been handed, though. England's overall historical record against France is very good: they've won 16 games to France's eight, with only four matches having ended in a draw. But the competitive record is much more even: it's two wins apiece. France skelped England 5-2 in Alf Ramsey's first-ever match in Euro qualifying in 1963, and scored twice in injury time at Euro 2004 to nick off with a 2-1 win; England meanwhile have done the French twice at the World Cup, 2-0 at Wembley in 1966, 3-1 in Bilbao in 1982.
Worse news for England is the recent form. France have won four of the last five encounters against the English, drawing the other one. And they're currently 21 games unbeaten, since losing 1-0 at home to Belarus in the opening game of their qualifying campaign.
Having said all that: England are undefeated in competitive football since that 4-1 hammering by Germany at the last World Cup. They're also on a two-game undefeated run since being totally outplayed by Holland at Wembley in February. Mr Roy can boast back-to-back 1-0 wins since taking over, and is currently the most successful England manager of all time (if you don't take the winning of actual trophies into consideration, which nobody else seems to bother doing while assessing his managerial abilities, so who am I to rock the boat). He's 100%! He's two in the hole! Move over, Sir Alf!
Kick off: 5pm British "Summer" Time; 7pm EEST, the local time in Donetsk, Ukraine.
France, who are expected to dominate possession: France: Lloris, Debuchy, Rami, Mexes, Evra, Nasri, Cabaye, Diarra, Malouda, Ribery, Benzema.
Subs: Mandanda, Giroud, Matuidi, Reveillere, Menez, M'Vila, Martin, Ben Arfa, Valbuena, Clichy, Koscielny, Carrasso.
England, who will be looking to sit back, soak up the pressure, and attack Evra and Mexes on the break. And maybe do something against a small team from a set piece: Hart, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole, Milner, Gerrard, Parker, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Young, Welbeck.
Subs: Green, Walcott, Henderson, Carroll, Baines, Jones, Jagielka, Downing, Defoe, Butland.
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy) Read More
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