Victory number 17 for England over France?
It has been eight years since England last participated at the UEFA European Championship. It has also been eight years since France defeated the Three Lions 2-1 in a Euro Cup opener. Could Laurent Blanc’s men inflict the blues upon underachievers England?
The French are probably the most in-form team at Euro 2012. With Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema, they possess an attack capable of creating multiple chances on goal. On Monday, they will face an English defence guided by Chelsea veteran John Terry and goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The task of scoring will certainly be harder than it was in their last warm-up match against Estonia. However, there is no reason why Les Bleus should not be confident of repeating what they did in Euro 2004: defeating England in the first group game.
The pressure is on Roy Hodgson. The 14th permanent England coach has several questions from the media to answer over his squad selection. The exclusion of Rio Ferdinand is the number one topic on the table. Without suspended striker Wayne Rooney, Roy Hodgson has a bigger headache. Who can score the goals against France?
It is important for England to get off to a bright start. Aside having to reassure their fans and the English media with a promising performance, the Three Lions must at all cost get maximum points. History tells that in their seven attempts at winning the UEFA European Championship, the 1966 FIFA World Cup champions have qualified for knockout stage football only thrice.
They do hold an advantage over France, though. England have beaten Les Bleus 16 times in 28 meetings. They must now avoid losing to the French for the ninth time.
Sweden poised to hand Ukraine a miserable debut .jpg)
As the co-hosts, Ukraine will have the full backing of the home crowd at the Olympic National Sports Complex. This spectacular venue in Kiev is where the Ukrainians will play their first ever European Championship encounter. They enter this summer’s event with absolutely no experience.
Sweden are clear favourites to clinch victory. Hamren’s men are buzzing with pride and confidence after winning each of their last four international friendly matches.
The man set to rob the spotlight again is Zlatan Ibrahimovic as former Rossoneri player Andriy Shevchenko is likely to start from the bench due to fitness reasons. The Swedish team is “Zlatan plus 10”. Ukrainian striker Voronin has asked his team mates to be “at their best” to stop Ibra.
UEFA Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland failed to win their opening match against Greece a few days ago. Will Ukraine beat the odds and teach the Polish how to triumph?
See where to watch this game on our Ukraine vs Sweden match page.
