So, City draw one all in Donetsk. Very encouraging for England in my opinion - all the talk has been about them being well organised and (ahem) 'difficult to beat', and they did look very solid, but I also found them much less anaemic and stolid in possession than they have been in recent years. Thankfully, most of the players from the laughably nicknamed 'Golden Generation' are injured or retired or not selected, and the remaining members are the best of the group - Gerrard and Cole have always been class, and Terry, while I am not his biggest fan, did well tonight, dealing with pretty much everything that came his way in a mostly very impressive defensive line.
I like how the team contains young, hungry players who are willing to run for the side and have a positive attitude when something doesn't work properly, getting back in position and making amends rather than standing and remonstrating (a la Cristiano Ronaldo). Club rivalries aside, I would even put Danny Welbeck in that category - both he and the Ox looked bright at times, causing France problems with their running and skill. That said, and much as it pains me to say it, I do think we need Rooney back - at times we were lacking ideas going forward and his invention and power were missed a bit. We've got the most difficult match out of the way and earned a good point with the most enjoyable England performance for years.
Delighted that Lescott scored for us, he has popped up with a few crucial goals this season and he is always a threat from set pieces. I've always been a massive Gerrard fan and it was great to see one of my favourite payers provide the asset for a City player (the free kick was won by a City player against a United player as well which was nice to see). I also liked his smiling reaction to the goal, it's important to see the game played with the right attitude. I disagreed with the criticism of Hart for the goal though, it came through a crowd of bodies and Hart was right to say that the defence should have closed him down sooner. It was very interesting to hear Nasri suggest in the post-match interview that he tricked Hart by shooting near post rather than far post, knowing Hart would expect him to go for the latter - of course the players see each other in training every day and it;s amazing that he has the presence of mind to remember that in the heat of the moment. Hart did seem to take half a step to his left as well. Of course, he might just be saying that to make himself look clever (Nasri's a bit of a spoilt brat at times - was less impressed with his celebration).
So overall I'm cautiously optimistic about England, certainly that the matches won't be as eye-gougingly horrendous as the games at the last World Cup, and possibly that we might have a sneaky run if Rooney's in form and we get a bit of luck. It's going to be tricky match next of course (Spain or Italy or possibly Croatia) but you've got to play everyone at some point. Come on England!
I'm writing this just after Shevchenko has scored Ukaine's second, what a fairytale! Brings a tear to the eye. Ukraine have had a lot of stick this tournament, with people saying they are the weakest team to ever attend a tournament, as well as the problems with racism, but this was a moment to help you forget about the negatives and just enjoy the drama and joy that football creates. There will be some happy kids in Kiev tonight.
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