Euro 2012 produced more surprises Tuesday night when already eliminated Sweden shocked France 2–0, allowing England to top Group D after a hard fought 1–0 triumph over an unlucky Ukraine side. England could hardly believe its good fortune in avoiding Spain in the quarterfinals.
England’s impending clash with the Azzuri is a mouth-watering prospect of the first order. Neither side was among the favorites at the start of this tournament, but both have so far exceeded expectations. Frankly, there is little to choose between the two teams at this stage.
Both have influential playmakers, in the shape of Andrea Pirlo and Steven Gerrard, who can deliver quality balls all over the park, but especially from set pieces. Both have a brilliant but unpredictable front man who can win the game with a piece of unmitigated brilliance or do something stupid to get himself sent off, leaving his teammates to struggle being a man down.
One thing is for sure, you cannot keep Manchester rivals Wayne Rooney or Mario Balotelli out of the headlines for too long.
Cesare Prandelli and Roy Hodgson both have their charges well drilled and hard to break down, while coming up with inspired team selections and substitutions that have produced vital goals. This encounter, scheduled for Sunday evening in Kiev, may not turn out to be a football classic but it is certain to be enthralling in every sense of the word, as two of the game’s master tacticians go head to head.
Rooney’s Return
England’s path to the top of Group D was by no means easy. Ukraine was lively in the first half while England appeared sluggish by comparison. Yet it was England that looked the more dangerous when they did venture into their opponents’ final third.
The Ukraine backline were distinctly uncomfortable when Steven Gerrard delivered quality balls into the area, and England would have gone ahead had a somewhat rusty Rooney not mistimed his header after getting on the end of a fine cross from Manchester United colleague Ashley Young.
The killer punch came four minutes after the re-start and, like most of England’s best moments, it was all about Steven Gerrard.
The skipper took a corner, which was only partially cleared and found its way back out to him on the right flank. Gerrard went round the outside of the defender with a lovely piece of skill and crossed for Rooney to get it right on this occasion and head home.
There was an element of fortune in the goal as the ball took two separate deflections off defenders before bouncing awkwardly in front of the keeper and onto the head of the advancing Rooney. The star striker celebrating his return from suspension with the winning goal was exactly what England supporters wanted to see.
Ukraine continued to give it everything they could muster and were most unlucky not to draw level on 62 minutes. A fine incisive attack put Marko Devic through on goal with only Joe Hart to beat.
The England keeper parried but could not stop the shot heading for goal. However, a last ditch effort by John Terry appeared to have cleared the ball off the line—that is until we saw the television replay. The ball had indeed crossed the line and it is remarkable that the fourth official, placed in position for that very purpose, did not make the correct call.
This incident was hard on the co-hosts and will certainly strengthen the call for the introduction of goal line technology.
Pride of Sweden
They may have been already out of the competition, but Swedish teams have tremendous pride and will never be pushovers. The first half of the encounter with group favorites France was scoreless, but on 56 minutes Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed why he was the leading scorer in this year’s Serie A.
The Sweden skipper was virtually horizontal to the ground as he showed tremendous technical ability in volleying home a cross from a yard inside the French penalty area. There have already been several memorable goals in this tournament but this was arguably the best to date.
Hugo Lloris had to be on his toes to prevent Sweden from extending the lead as they enjoyed a short purple patch, but it was France that dominated for the last half hour of the game.
Yet they were denied by some heroic defending from the Swedes who managed to get bodies in the way of everything. France’s best opportunity came in the 84th minute when Olivier Geroud headed over the top from a corner when he really should have found the back of the net. In fairness, it was the striker’s very first touch having just entered the fray as a substitute.
The icing on the cake for the Swedes came in the first minute of stoppage time. With the French tiring, Sweden launched a rare attack and Sunderland’s Seb Larsson hammered the ball into the roof of the net after a scuffed effort from Samuel Holmen rebounded off the crossbar.
Lloris urged his side to “forget what happened tonight,” while coach Laurent Blanc admitted “We'll have to put in a really good performance to beat Spain, and it’s very difficult to imagine beating them how we played tonight.”
Having slumped to second spot in Group D, the dubious honor of facing the World and European Champions now goes to France. The French backline has looked decidedly fragile at times and if the Spanish are on song it could be a long night for Laurent Blanc’s team, particularly since first choice center back Philippe Mexes will be suspended for the clash.
Much will depend on the likes of Samir Nasri, Franck Ribery, and Karim Benzema producing something special at the other end of the pitch to keep the pressure off their defenders. Of course they will have to gain possession of the ball first, and that is easier said than done when facing Spain these days.
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