Euro 2012 : Disappointment for France after England draw

By Matthieu Boisseau
12/06/2012

France drew with England in their opening match (1-1). The Three Lions took the lead after Joleon Lescott's opener, but Samir Nasri soon equalized. the French were robbed!

At the end of the day, the toughest thing for Les Bleus now is not the tie against England (1-1) in itself, but deciding what approach they must now take. On the one hand, This is the first time in a while that France has made such a solid start in a competition for a (the last time being the 2006 World Cup). But on the other slightly more critical hand, they could have won the game if they had pushed a little harder, played a little more daraingly.

As it was, however, their game was one of prudence right from the start. Immediately after kickoff, it was clear that Laurent Blanc’s lads were excessively resting on defense. But could France, unbeaten now for 21 matches, really be scared by England, a squad missing superstars Rooney, Lampard,and Barry ?

Les Bleus’ extreme caution was soon shattered as England took the lead thanks to Joleon Lescott's first goal for his country. Manchester City’s defender headed home a Steven Gerrard perfect free-kick after half an hour. That was a truly perfect start for Roy Hodgson’s men. Luckily, this seemed to be the wake-up call needed, and France quickly struck back with Lescott’s City team-mate Samir Nasri. Frank Ribery passed back to Nasri, who gave himself space to beat Joe Hart with a tremendous shot just inside the post.

After that, France seized control of the match and never relaxed their grip right up until the final whistle. Brilliant midfielders Yohann Cabaye and Karim Benzema tried to emphasize Les Bleus’ superiority. But Welbeck deflected Newcastle’s French player volley and Hart saved to complete this draw. A quietly logical result as France did not risk everything to snatch a win, while England made its best not to lose.