Euro 2012: England vs. France
By Ty Duffy
– William Shakespeare, Henry V
France and England. Their wars, their rivalry and their cultural exchanges forged their own identities and, through imperial enterprises, much of the modern world. Their rivalry in soccer, however, has not been so momentous. They have never met in a knockout stage, though they did have a noteworthy group meeting at Euro 2004. As in this tournament, they met in the first match. England took a 1-0 lead on a Frank Lampard goal into extra time. Zinedine Zidane equalized on a free kick and converted a penalty in the dying seconds to give France a 2-1 win.
England have a new manager, a deposed captain awaiting a racism trial and a squad decimated by pre-tournament injuries. Even healthy and in a vacuum, they still weren’t so impressive. We know what Roy Hodgson wants England to do: drop behind the ball in banks of four, defend and counterattack quickly. What we don’t know, with a limited squad and limited preparation time, is how well they will perform.
Hodgson opted for precocious talent over mediocre experience, starting Arsenal’s Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain ahead of Stewart Downing. Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck will get the nod ahead of Andy Carroll.
France have tournament-winning talent, though coach Laurent Blanc is still figuring out how to deploy it. They have had ebbs and flows, but while doing so have not lost a match since September 2010. Going forward has been no problem. The French should dominate possession against England. Lately, they have converted that possession into goals, 11 in their last four matches.
The worry for the French is getting caught out on the counterattack. They have an injury crisis in defensive midfield. Their central defensive pairing of Rami and Mexes is worse than the sum of its parts. The parts weren’t that great.
[Photo via Getty]