England's 1-1 draw with France last night left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand it was a decent performance and a good start to the tournament, but on the other it felt like a missed opportunity.
Having worked so hard to get ourselves in front, we switched off and allowed them back into the game. Yes, they had a good spell of pressure just before the break, but I cannot help feeling they were there for the taking in the second half. However, we seemed more content not to lose rather than go and actually win it.
Forget their 22 match unbeaten run, France are not a great side. Yes, they have some good players like Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema and Yohan Cabaye, but I doubt they will get further than the quarter finals. In fact I would not be surprised if they did not even get out of the group.
But perhaps Roy Hodgson has spent too long as the underdog as he now appears to have an inferiority complex. It was as though he did not think we could beat them. We were content to sit back in the second half when a little more ambition could have given us 3 very important points.
Of course it is only the first game, and having watched Ukraine come from behind to beat Sweden last night we have nothing to fear from either of them, but we have got to start believing in ourselves a little more. In spells we played some good football and we created some good chances, especially in the first half, but the longer the match went on the less likely we looked to win it. In fact we looked like a side playing with the handbrake on, afraid to step up a gear.
The substitutions were also left far too late. Why not bring Theo Walcott on to run at their tiring defence in the final twenty minutes? Why not bring Jermain Defoe on earlier? Why bring Jordan Henderson on at all??
I am not, however, going to be too critical of Hodgson or the team. We have got off to a decent start so hopefully we can now settle down, grow into the tournament and improve. Of course we will need to be more positive against Sweden on Friday, especially if France have beaten Ukraine earlier in the day, but we have the players to do that. We just need to believe a bit more.
On the plus side was the performance of Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, in only his 3rd international appearance. The boy looks like a potential star and could emerge as the new Gazza, circa 1990, in term of ability and influence on the team. Of course it is hoped he will not follow a similar path off the pitch, but having heard his post-match interviews he certainly seems to have his feet firmly on the ground.
Others to perform well included the much-maligned Glen Johnson at right back, Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard in the centre of midfield, while Danny Welbeck put in a great shift up front. The shape of the team looked good, we didn't panic and everyone worked hard for each other.
So, a satisfactory if unspectacular start but the signs are positive and I think we will not only qualify for the knock-out stages but win the group. And then who knows?
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