19/06/2012 Match of the Day

I have no problems with my temperament. I have paid the price.

When you play, you always think you can change the game. I am available

to play, so I am excited. We are all fighting for a place, there is

competition. Hopefully I can do Good evening. Wayne Rooney was back.

England were unbeaten under Roy Hodgson, and required just a point

against Ukraine to go through. How could it go wrong? After highlights,

we will have the views of Allen Hansen, Alan Shearer and Lee Dixon.

to the Stadium macro. This is a different place tonight. Three-

quarters poll for the draw with France. Tonight, a brimming bowl of

Ukrainian passion. A huge test to be passed to reach the quarter-

finals. England's a third group game experience has brought

different results and aggression that previous championships. We

need this to be more Wembley 96, less Stockholm 92. England's

leading man is back for the starring role. His suspension over,

we always knew that Wayne Rooney would be in for game three. He will

need a broad shoulders and a cool head. Andy Carroll has made way for

him. The rest of the team is as it was, James Milner plays. From a

country they didn't qualify for the finals, hungry's Viktor Kassai may

be a contender to referee the final himself. He will feel pressure to

perform well, just as much as the players. England's talismanic is in,

Ukraine's is out. Shevchenko has been struggling with fluid on the

need, so he sits it out. In comes the Serbian born damage. -- Devic.

only need to draw. That is a big only. Ukraine must win, or the

make it to visitors from England welcome, but this is the point

where the hospitality is courted for a couple of hours. The drama in

Donetsk has begun. The Ukraine manager, Oleg Blokhin, has picked a

team to get goals, and they must ball away to safety. A wall of

from the wrong side of his boot. The big talking point as regarding

the Ukraine team, no Shevchenko. Does that hinder them or improve

them? Certainly when he was in England, it looked like he was

running with a piano on his back, so judging from that, it might help

Garmash. It moved in the air a little bit. A decent strike,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds

Welbeck was blocked off, trying to get on the end of it, the referee

didn't see it. Much better from bit worried how Konoplienka is just

cutting in all the time, everything is opening up for him. You only

need one of those to bounce up onto has almost changed tack in recent

days, building up the expectation rather than trying to play it down.

I loved his line yesterday about playing football to try and get

people carried away, dreaming is Great touch. Just took a bit of

bar. Just a little bit too easy for Ukraine, isn't it? Their movement

is really good, they are lively up didn't clear the bar by March.

Ashley Young's heart can stop beating quite so quickly now.

yes, it is a mistake. His positioning is really are at the

moment. He has really joined in alongside car-park off. - across

did really well, Milner was away. very clumsy challenge. Reminder of

what Oleg Blokhin said, he accused some of his defenders have not

going. He managed to somehow shovel the ball clear. I think he is going

to claim he didn't see it until very late. Nobody else touched it.

He didn't want to get his gloves big chance. The player who has been

billed as the returning hero. was a great ball in for Ashley

Young. He is in a great position, was closing in. Good play, this,

from Ukraine. Yarmolenko knows that was his moment. A slight touch from

deflected for an England corner. More positive, though, from Ashley

that John Terry was on his way back Johnson is looking been used. Why

on earth has there been a reaction puts it in. England have the lead

they so desperately needed. How on earth did that find its way all the

goals you will ever score for England, and it might be one of the

most important. When the second cross comes in from Steven Gerrard

can he get a little bit of luck, the buoy marking him slips, but

what is the goalkeeper doing? What is he doing? I will my goodness me,

thank you very much! Just what England needed. Right at the start

of the second half. A draw will do, but England are in the lead.

think Pyatov has touched the ball three times with his hands, and he

has dropped it twice. This is crossbar. It was a decent, testing

ball from Gusev there. He had to get himself into position, it was

Pyatov. He ran out of legs, he must have run 60 or 70 yards. It was a

great ball from sh -- Ross Steven Gerrard. It was a great block from

Rooney. I am not sure if that was a cross or a shot. Had that been Andy

Carroll, could would have been a He let the ball bounce off his head.

Joe Hart and -- Artem Milevskiy could have levelled it up. England

fell asleep. Offside? He was. It is a warning. Our Andriy Shevchenko is

beginning he stretching. Maybe say it is a golf. It has not been

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. It is a free kick, outside the box. How close

was it to crossing the line? think England have got away with

that. Definitely. We might see how close this was before we see

England hit the goal kick -- free kick. It looks over. It does.

a course South Africa. -- that stands. The Ukraine supporters know

they should have had a goal, it Goal line technology, here we go

again. We need to see a replay of the incident again and whether the

fifth official is... It is in. It is a great clearance from John

Terry, but it is in. Give it to ever strike for England. It is a

great strike -- great save. This was his first touch, but was not

great. He gets up, he gets back, he is on cited a bit, a very good

Joleon Lescott was there in the nick of time. Yevhen Konoplyanka.

You cannot tell how it is wobbling. There was something in there.

Well played, Danny Welbeck. I thought he might go on, because

Wayne Rooney had to almost turn at a major tournament since they

beat Switzerland in 1954 at the off that one, but the coach is in

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds

no murder. He is probably screaming idea, though. The two wide players

have now. The board said three minutes would be added on, and we

are nearly there. With England, looking at the three displays, the

ball has started to run for them. They just have got the breaks at

the right time. It was a sewage incident, when John Terry moved the

ball away, even though it looked like it was over the line. England

are over the line and into the quarter-finals. They only needed a

draw, they have got the win, thanks to an easy goal from Wayne Rooney.

It is the end for Ukraine. England will go on and on at the European

Championships. In the city built on mining, England have dug deep. They

have struck gold. We are all off to Roy Hodgson's unbeaten England top

the group. They now face Italy on Sunday for a place in the semi-

Ukraine finish third courtesy of their opening-day victory over the

Scandinavians. There is plenty to be positive about tonight, a clean

sheet, always very good to have. Wayne Rooney, 87 minutes, plus a

goal. The defending at times was very good. We have a world-class

goalkeeper in Joe Hart. We rode our luck at times, but every team needs

a bit of luck. We have not hit top gear it yet, there is no doubt, but

Spain have not, Germany have not, France have not. There is plenty to

be optimistic about. Would you can cope with that? It is Italy rather

than Spain as well, which has got to be a bonus? Let's forget about

them for the moment! They are improving. Against France, there

were lots of things, they were bad in possession, but they defended

well. Against Sweden, there were defensive problems, but they were

better going forward. Going into the game today, he look at where

they finished in the table, seven points, they have won the group

quite easily. Lots to be positive about. Overall, they have done very

well. It was imperative they got the job done. They shake its at --

they say you should start quickly, and we had two performances from

Steven Gerrard and John Terry. games this season that England have

won 1-0, that is always a good sign. 1-0 to the England! Let's hear from

We have grown in strength, and the players have shown incredible

spirit and desire. We played a real away match today. The 4000

Englishmen and -- were outnumbered. We asked -- we were asked a lot of

questions, but we stuck to our guns. Did you ride your luck? I believe

it might have been an offside situation as well, so these things

even themselves out. If you have followed England in the past, the

last thing you talk about his goals that should have been given or not

given. Perhaps it was our turn to get one, if it was over the line.

But it was a wonderful piece of work from John Terry. It is always

going to be difficult for the referees and linesmen and Tel:

Technology comes in. The first half was nervous, but Wayne Rooney, it

was not his most difficult golf. was important. He has not scored in

tournament football for a long time. Eight years. It is a long time. He

had a few other chances, he got himself into a few other positions,

and his confidence improved. He got tired a bit, but he had already

done 80 of minutes. We did not expect more than that. Expectation

is rising, back home, everybody is getting behind England, love and

the tournament. Will you win it? do not mind the expectation. We

have been buoyed by the news from home. Everybody seems to be

becoming an England fan. If you on a football player or a coach, you

want people to appreciate you and to get behind you and people to

give you the feeling that, if I have a bad game, it will not be a

catastrophe. We are getting more of that feeling, and the players are

responding as they are. Only the second time ever that

England have won the grid in the European Championships. The last

time was 9096! He has done a fantastic job, he has got all of

the Major calls right. Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young, then

Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll. He brings Wayne Rooney -- Wayne Rooney

in today, he has got all of the decisions right. Under Fabio

Capello, the players were not happy, but Roy Hodgson is calm, collected,

the players know their job. It is reflected in the results. It is

great to see passion on the touchline! Clenching his fist.

of the players in in the national 21.7% conversion rate of chances

for England, the highest in the tournament so far. He is always on

the move in the box. He is drifting to the far post. He is always on

the move, he getting between the defenders. I do not care as a

centre-forward, you do not get two points for a goal outside the box.

It will not bother him. It is a simple goal, but it is a very

important one. A lot of debate about the goalkeeper. I cannot

understand. Any decent wicket keeper would have taken it!

looks easy in slow motion. It has just been touched in front of him,

We talked about it being over the line, I suppose it is important to

say that even if it had gone in, England would still have gone

through, 1-1. I don't think the Ukrainians were particularly happy

about it! He was going ballistic on the line. Initially, the English

defence gets caught out, but when John Terry get back, Joe Hart makes

a sensational save. It looked in. It looks over the line, it is over

the line. The 5th after sure, he has got a really bad have used

there! -- the 5th official. haven't got a clue what he is doing

there. He has got to be able to see that, but I'm glad he didn't.

crucial time, as well. England might have had a hard last 15

minutes of the referee gives that. You mentioned Joe Hart. He made a

couple of important saves. When you get through the back four, you want

to be able to rely on a top keeper. And this guy is, no doubt. Just

watch how big he makes himself in front. Look at the way he spreads

himself. Both legs, both arms, it is an excellent save. If he doesn't

get back, John Terry has no chance of getting it. Konoplienka was

fantastic here, but again, good defending from Joleon Lescott. The

way the ball moves in the air, for him to get such a strong left hand

on it when he is going the other way to buy that is a great, great

save. I was full of praise for Steven Gerrard, but when they got

through the back four, he saved us. Congratulations, that is the way to

come back, isn't it? It is a great feeling, to score the goal, but we

worked hard tonight as a team, it was difficult at times, for myself

that was quite difficult, playing almost 90 minutes as well. But we

dug in, defended well, and we are delighted to get three points.

the most difficult goal you will ever score! Know, I had a good

chance and the first half, I should have done better, I think all my

chances came on my head, thankfully a but the one that counted.

little bit off the pace in the first half, would you say? Yes, I

get the ball away a few times, a bit sloppy, but I had to keep going.

Keep trying to do the simple things and it paid off in the end. Ball

over the line clear by John Terry, a little bit of, for Blom contain!

I don't know, that is up for the officials. Maybe it is time we got

a bit of luck at Championships. is not often you say lucky England.

No, but I think it was deserved, with limited them to shot outside

of the area, mostly, I think we deserved to win. What was it like

to be back in the cut-and-thrust of it? Be is great to be back playing,

to come back to score was great for us. What about the celebration,

plans? No, I used to that of Andy Carroll's hair product before the

game. -- a bit of Andy Carroll's hair product.

What about his overall performance? He has been out for a little while,

jumping at the bit. A I thought he was very rusty. It wasn't his

normal performance that we are used to see, he didn't bring people into

the game, he didn't look That was very early on in the game.

This is the chance that he has. The movement is very good. He pulls out

to the far post, but he is caught on his heels a little bread. He is

on his way down when he tries to head it. His link-up play wasn't

great, and I think if Rooney had been playing regularly, he doesn't

let the defender get across him, he doesn't let him catch him. But you

know what, it actually doesn't matter, because the life of a goal

scorer is, doesn't matter how you play, you are judged on your goals,

and he scored the most important goal, that is all that matters.

it had been a Premier League game, you would have said he had a

shocker, but the big bonus for England is he has had the game he

needed massively, and he will be much better next time. The biggest

thing is, he scored. And it will breed confidence. Strikers love

goals, they love them! You would rather play badly and score then

played brilliantly and not score. You made a lifetime out of that!

Steven Gerrard, given that of the match. -- man of the match. He has

deserved it, he has been England's bass player, led by example, passed

the ball, he has swept up. He is actually looking fitter than when

he was at Liverpool. You were really worried about his fitness,

but he has come straight to the They are good team, they are at

home, they have all the advantages, but a sign of a good team is when

the going gets tough, you roll up your sleeves a new fight for every

ball. A your third assist of the tournament. The that is my job. I

have terrific front men, if they get service, they will mark them

away. I don't think Wayne Rooney found it too hard to not! You had a

bit of luck with the ball that crossed the line. To do well in

these competitions eat you need a bit of luck, and you go to the

Frank Lampard goal a couple of years ago, that was clearly over

the line. If that is the case, we will take it and hope there is a

little bit more in future. Now it is Italy in the quarter-finals,

because you have topped the group, not Spain. If I think the important

thing is not to think we have an easier tie with Italy, they are a

fantastic side, we need to show them as much respect as we would

have done a bit was Spain. We need to perform how we have done. Wayne

Rooney looked more relaxed, was it good having him there? Of course,

we have been desperate to have him back, he is world class. He was

always going to be a bit nervous, the pressure was on him to turn up

and run the show, I thought he was terrific. Hopefully he will get

Steven Gerrard lead from the front. I think he will take huge

confidence from being given the England armband on a permanent

basis. I know from a personal point of view, and you will pull the same,

I think it makes you feel 10 ft tall. That has shown in this

tournament. I think he is just happy been fit. When he came back

for Liverpool, he wasn't even going in for tackles come he wasn't

getting from box to box, he was tentative. Now I think he is 100%

fit. He looks like the dynamic Gerrard we know. He will never be

the same player as five or six years ago, but how many times have

we seen this? 50, 60 yards passing, inch-perfect. So difficult to

defend against. Then, leading by example, sticking with it, and

forcing the defender to just clear and make the mistake. I don't think

it is a coincidence that when you look at the action, some of the

tackles going on, the 50 - 50 ones, he is always involved. He gets the

first touch there, but he is always looking up, he sees Wayne Rooney

coming, and that is absolute perfection. If Wayne Rooney is fit

there, he will take it on and score. This is the final five minutes,

this is on his weaker foot, a great touch, a great ball in. His quality

from a dead-ball, we saw it in the previous game, but again tonight,

from free-kicks. Where do they have to improve? In the first half, they

really struggled for large periods, they seemed to be drenched in their

own half. I think Paul possession was better today, but they gave a

lot of width of way, I thought they struggled a little bit. But

ultimately, I think overall, you have to look at their positioning

on the pitch and say, Steven Gerrard rules that. John Terry at

the back pushing up, and Steven Gerrard, that is the key to how

England played. Up front you have got Rooney, but that is the key,

they set the tempo. I still think at times, most teams in this

competition I'm pretty, but at times we can keep the ball a little

bit better. -- in this competition are improving. You can give

yourself a bit over breeze so when you are passing it around. It is a

lot easier when you have got the ball. We have seen spells in the

three matches where they just keep giving it away cheaply, and sooner

or later you come up against a good side, you do that against a good

side and they will punish you. I thought we were fantastic against

a really good Ukrainian side. They have to win the game, they came

flying out, we defended well when we needed to. Everyone just worked

so hard, everyone is dead on their feet, but John Terry is a fantastic

player, here shirted for Chelsea in the Champions League. -- he has

shown it. The lads have worked so hard, Roy Hodgson has come in and

tried to put his rules across as quickly as you can. But we have

trust each other and believe in each other's ability, and I think

today and in previous fixtures we have been showing how hard we are

willing to work. Good, organised team, good on the counter-attack,

and it was a hostile environment, they put us under pressure, we had

some -- they had some good chances, but we have shown a good resilience

about us, and we really did it out tonight. We are confident we can go

all the way, it will be a tough game, but we are confident that

with the set out our business, we will be hard to beat. How delighted

I U2 of wood of the world and European champions? And get the

extra day? The extra day is important. But as you say, no easy

games, it will not be an easy game to beat Italy, but we are confident.

Now England will play against Italy, they got past a very difficult

group, and I told them, I think England can reach the final.

think England can go all the way? Why not? For you, is this your last

game? I just want to play one more, maybe a friendly game, just for my

family, for my friends, for the fans who supported me for many,

A wonderful career Shevchenko has had. As for England, John Terry, he

is a leader, isn't he? There was a lot of debate about whether he

should be here, whether it should be someone else, whether it should

be Rio, but on the pitch he has done it. When he is defending the

18 yard line, he his as good as anyone. He has always been

brilliant positionally. Two full backs behind the centre backs, not

great, but to get round the back, and that is good play. Again, go

tight quickly, and when it is coming out to the left-hand side,

watch him. Just get in a great position, he knows exactly where to

go. That is a phenomenal touch. And what about this for a block - they

are a bit deeper, same problems they had against the French, but a

great block. Positionally, in the air, not a problem. A great pass to

Ashley Young that set up Wayne Rooney. He reads it, he gets in

front of the centre forward. This was the slight problem, when you

are reading it, consummate ease, but when you try and go too early

and get it wrong, as he does here, he is looking for the ball to be

played there, he takes a step forward and thinks he is going to

nick it. But unfortunately for him, he misjudges it. He is struggling

to get back. This is where the problem arose. To be fair, the

clearance on the line, even though it was over the line, is

sensational. When is a good clearance on the line not a good

clearance on the line? When it is Oliver! On that last one, he has to

know who is behind him. When Terry and Lescott get dragged away from

the 18 yard line, that is when you have a problem. There is not a

great deal of pace between the two of them. We saw a couple of decent

crosses from Ashley Young, but by and large we have not seen the best

of him. I think today the main problem was dealing with their wide

players, Yarmolenko and Konoplienka. They caused some problems. Not just

for the full backs, I thought they were excellent today, but James

Milner did the work in front, and Ashley and struggled a little bit

with positioning. Ashley Cole is the best left-back in the world in

my opinion, but he still needs help in front of him. If Ashley Young is

scared about what is outside him, but he stays inside. Too much space.

That just releases the centre half -- centre forward through the gap.

John Terry does brilliantly to I do not want him to go at there, I

want him to stay nice and tight. That opens up the gap, because he

has gone too far out. Scott Parker has to go with the runner. He

releases the space. You should not be able to play a ball tight like

that. It is about talking. This one, he gets it just about right, but he

makes a basic mistake. Ashley Cole has got to talk to him a lot more

and move him around the pitch. amazing thing was, Ashley Young

must have asked Ashley Cole were to go, Bridges unbelievable. -- which

is unbelievable. A chance to see the other match,

For Sweden, one last appearance on the international stage. R Ola

Toivonen replaces Johan Elmander, who is injured. Emir Bajrami

replaces Rasmus Elm. France are unbeaten in 23 games. Yohan Cabaye

says they are determined to win the group, but he is injured. Jan

M'Vila starts for the first time in these finals, as does Hatem Ben

from Andreas Isaksson to parry it. You may remember Erik Hamren's

assistance. He used to play for He ruffled the side netting, and he

misses a very good chance. He gets out of jail, the Frenchman.

Isolated, all on his own. On a toy for there should have done better.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds

goalkeeper on his toes. France are France are behind. Zlatan

Ibrahimovic, the Golden Boy of Swedish football, has finally

answered his critics on the biggest stage. He adjusts his feet, and

what a striker that is. marvellous goal, great Chet Baker.

His manager, so full of character, full of joy. Five goals in six for

Sweden. They have been a better side than their results suggest in

this competition. England deservedly beat them, but they came

from behind to lead at one stage. For periods of the game against the

Ukraine, they were by far the better team. Hugo Lloris made

himself pick and saved it. A lazy pass, fantastic. He hammered it

with his left foot, a good stop great save, but he should not have

to make it. Shocking defending from the French. The French team seemed

devoid of ideas. The heat is had to parry it. It is a better

striker. Outside the box, from distance, the goalkeeper has got to

deal with it. France want to send on Olivier Giroud. He has scored 25

goals this season. He is on the verge of scoring two -- joining

suddenly, there is a man -- much better move. Suddenly, there is a

man from deep. At last, France will have two up front. What an impact

that would have made. What a chance. He is in acres of space. He does

everything right. A great run, a poor finish. Four minutes of

Sebastian Larsson of Sunderland. A poor French side have been beaten.

England's ascendancy in the group assured. France could not much like

a side that will travel much further in this competition. Gael

Clichy is nowhere to be seen. Philippe Mexes cannot get across.

Sebastian Larsson, dispatched. Sebastian Larsson has a thunderous

shot on him. France looked complacent from the first whistle.

Sweden have beaten a Paul France. - Despite that defeat, France still

go through. They will play Spain, they will have to improve

considerably. Very much like when they played England, they did not

have anybody running behind the Swedish defence. They coped with it

ES, Sweden. Have we seen a better goal and this tournament and the

Zlatan Ibrahimovic? 8 Great Strike, fantastic. Alan Hansen should talk

through this! I am a convert! have got his picture on my wall! It

is a great picnic. -- technique. To generate the power... Of what a

picture. I do not understand how people can up like him. He has got

everything. Absolutely everything! He scores lots of goals. This is

It is wide open. The Germans and the Spanish are the favourites.

They both could have gone home. They were very lucky, the Germans,

the penalty kick incident, and the Croatians had a great chance

against the Spanish. There is no clear favourite. The Italians are

getting better. I do not fancy them rattle. The Italians against the

Croatians, they looked tired, jaded, and a lack of pace. Alan come up

what do you think about the Italians? They are always strong,

well-organised, difficult to beat. They will be tough to beat, nobody

fancied them after all, coming into the tournament, because of the

match fixing scandal. They too well when they have a match-fixing

scandal. They have done it before. They will be stronger. It will be

Keep an eye out for Alan Shearer's horse! Euro 2012 has a day off

tomorrow. Final thoughts? It has been a great night for England and

Roy Hodgson. Expectations were low, but not anymore. Can they win it?

There is still room to improve, but we are getting a bit more excited.