France's Franck Ribery, right, and England's James Milner challenge for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between France and England in Donetsk, Ukraine on Monday
DONETSK, UKRAINE—England held on for a 1-1 draw with France on Monday at the European Championship, giving the Group D favourites one point each.
Joleon Lescott put England in the lead with a header in the 30th minute, and Samir Nasri levelled for France shortly before halftime with a strike into the bottom corner of the net.
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France still has not won a match at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup. The national team, however, is unbeaten in its last 22 matches.
“I think we have to be happy with that,” France coach Laurent Blanc said. “We were too timid at the start, there was a bit of pressure that got to us, and then we got better actually after we conceded the goal — that’s when we started playing.”
England took the lead when captain Steven Gerrard curled in a free kick from the right after Patrice Evra had fouled James Milner, and Lescott was able to nod the ball past France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
France’s equalizer was all about one-touch football as Florent Malouda, Evra and Franck Ribery flicked the ball around the left side of England’s penalty area to free up space for Nasri, who put in a low shot before England goalkeeper Joe Hart could react.
After running away in celebration, television replays showed Nasri had shouted “Ferme ta geule,” or “Shut your mouth,” as he looked in the direction of the England bench. He then brought his finger to his lips as if to tell someone to hush.
In the final seconds of the match, Hart pushed away Karim Benzema’s goal-bound strike. Moments before, the Real Madrid forward’s curling effort was heading for the top corner until it was headed clear, and Yohan Cabaye’s controlled shot in the 80th minute beat Hart but was deflected away just before it reached the bottom corner.
“We’ll look at our performance and analyze what we’ve done right and what we’ve done wrong,” Gerrard said. “I think all in all we’re satisfied with a point.”
In a strange atmosphere at the Donbass Arena, French fans struggled to make themselves heard and England’s supporters were sometimes drowned out by a large amount of fans chanting “Russia, Russia.”
The French finished the match with 19 shots, 15 of them on target. England managed only three, and only one on target.
England coach Roy Hodgson handed 18-year-old midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a surprise start — his third appearance for England. And the English should have taken the lead in the 15th when Milner ran onto Ashley Young’s perfectly weighted pass behind the defence, got around Lloris but then hit the side netting.
France will next face co-host Ukraine on Friday while England plays Sweden.
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