Euro 2012: Match 1 England v France

England 1 v France 1

Every major tournament is like this.  I wax philosophical about England’s place in world soccer stage now, that their light is diminished among the brighter lights of Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.  Their ideas are old, their squad too riddled with injury, their appointed-at-the-last-possible-second manager too ancient to take this tournament.  And the closer and closer I get to kickoff time, the more child-like I become in my belief that England will triumph against all odds over the forces of evil.

As the whistle blows and the clock starts ticking, I become giddy again.  And that’s a good thing.  England has a charming football song called ‘Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)’ that describes this very thing.  England famously underachieves, but when it comes time, it’s okay to give yourself over to impossible hope and just cheer your heart out and live in that shiny, brief moment in wonder and glory that makes the inevitable disappointment worthwhile.

Roy Hodgson craves simplicity in England’s play and with a definite emphasis on defense.  Suits me.  England scored all of 3 goals in all of the last World Cup so I think it’s safe to assume that goals are not going to be England’s strong suit. 

England was happy to let France come at them and counterpunch when the timing was right.  It wasn’t brilliant.  But it was sound.  France couldn’t break down England’s back four, and even when they got a good shot away, Joe Hart was there to mop up.

By far, the man of the match (apart from Hart, who made at least 3 game-saving stops) was the ageless Steven Gerrard, who seemed to marshal both England’s defense and offense, putting through some majestic through balls to Milner (who missed an open net around minute 15) and Young as well as orchestrating the set piece that saw Lescott scoring from a free kick.

The Pros:

England’s defense was nothing short of brilliant.  I truly believe that France threw everything they had at England’s defense and apart from Nasri’s wonder strike, they came up empty.  Of course, Joe Hart played his part too, and played it well.  He made a brilliant stop off a French header in the first half that in many other instances would have been a goal.

Gerrard’s midfield play was also fantastic.  For a man written off as too old and beaten up (by yours truly as well), he stepped up to the plate and quarterbacked England’s meager offense into a goal and what should have been more. 

The Cons:

England’s strikers were non-existent.  I mean that.  I don’t recall Ashley Young’s name being mentioned once.  For all of England’s emphasis on defense, they need strikers who can put the ball in the back of the net when the opportunity presents themselves.  

And England's crossing?  Oh God, the crossing.  It was bloody atrocious.  More than a few crosses into the box sailed way past the far post.  England is, has and always been a cross from the wings kind of team.  If they can't do that, they are going to have big time problems.

But England's passing has been their Achilles' Heel.  England smacks of a team that is woefully underprepared and it showed this afternoon.  Apart from a couple of series in the second half, I was hard pressed to remember if England strung together more than a few passes in a row.  More than once, a pass back to Hart was understroked, forcing Hart into very compromising positions.  Other times it was the midfield who turned over the ball after a mistimed pass.  It's as if half the team is playing one system and half the team is playing the other.

The result:

I think most England fans will be (or at least should be) happy with the result.  I certainly was bracing for an England loss, especially when looking at England’s abysmal record against top flight competition over the years and France's solid rebound after a dismal World Cup.  It was England’s toughest game in the group stage and they got a point.  It was dull as dishwater, but Hodgson isn't playing for the fans.  He's playing to get his team advanced.  He took a step in the right direction.  

Do I think this team is going to get past the quarter-finals?  A lot depends on who they draw, of course, but I can't see it happening, to be honest.  A lot of it is going to come down to how Hart keeps goal (brilliantly, thus far) and if Wayne Rooney finally will rise to the occasion and play good football for England.  He is in his prime right now, and it is his tournament to show the world he is Christiano Ronaldo's equal.  2004 he was too young.  2006 he struggled mightily with an ankle injury.  2008 England didn't qualify and 2010 they didn't live up to expectations.  I think this will be Rooney's final chance.  He may have a place in 2014, but if Rooney has a bad tournament here, it think it is time for England to develop other options.  He is currently sitting out a two-game suspension.  We will see.