France 2 England 1

Lets be honest if you have any interest in soccer you were watching this, and if you are like me, it was one of the best matches in the history of the euro pean championships:

Zinedine Zidane scored a majestic free-kick and a penalty in injury time to secure holders France a stunning victory over England in Group B.

Frank Lampard had given England a first-half lead when he rose to head home David Beckham's free-kick.

The brilliant Wayne Rooney won England a second-half penalty, but Beckham saw his spot-kick saved by Fabien Barthez.

Zidane equalised with a free-kick and then converted from the spot after David James fouled Thierry Henry.

That late double blow left England's players inconsolable at the final whistle, whilst the French stayed on the pitch to celebrate their opening game win.

The atmosphere at the Estadio Da Luz was electric as both teams finally started their Euro 2004 campaigns.

And while England captain Beckham and France skipper Zidane, team-mates at Real Madrid, exchanged pleasantries in the tunnel before kick-off, there was no room for friendship on the field.

The pre-match hype - the game being England's biggest since their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Brazil in 2002 - added an extra edge to the encounter where duels between club team-mates were abundant.

Henry of Arsenal faced Sol Campbell in an England defence shorn of the services of John Terry, who was replaced by Ledley King.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson opted to stick with the 4-4-2 formation which had worked so well in the 6-1 Euro 2004 warm-up win over Iceland.

England's midfield quartet of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham settled quickly, allowing them to absorb some early France pressure.

Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires produced the fluid football so typical of the French, to whom the first real goalscoring opportunity fell when David Trezeguet headed over from Vieira's precision cross.

For England, Scholes combined well with the outstanding Rooney before the Manchester United midfielder picked out Michael Owen going in on goal.

Only the close attention of William Gallas prevented Owen from testing Barthez as France cleared their lines. Gallas also had to be alert to deny Gerrard, who had surged into the area following an England counter-attack.

King, who was starting his first match for England, looked impressive and the anonymity of Henry in the first half owed much to the Spurs centre-half's concentration at the back.

The England defender made an important clearance to cut out Vieira's flick-on as France sought to test James.

Yet in truth, for all France's possession, England goalkeeper James had little to do in the first half.

And England's controlled approach - epitomised by the superb holding play of Rooney - paid dividends just before half time.

Lizarazu sent Beckham tumbling on the right-hand side of the France area and the England captain picked himself to deliver a teasing cross which Lampard headed past a stationary Barthez.

It was the first time the French defence had been breached in 11 games, but that record was of no interest to England's fans, who could not contain their glee.

The onus was very much on France to pick up the pace after the break and one lightning quick counter-attack saw Vieira surge forward before finding Henry, whose curled shot was gathered by James.

Henry started to become more influential as the game wore on, but it was the raw aggression of Rooney that stood out as he tormented France with his power and pace.

If England had anything to prove it was that they could produce a strong second-half display.

Eriksson replaced the ineffective Owen with Darius Vassell in an attempt to freshen things up and, just as signs of weariness were creeping into the play, Rooney stormed forward.

The Everton teenager was crudely hacked down by Mikael Silvestre, who was fortunate to receive only a caution, and England were duly awarded a penalty.

But Beckham saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Barthez to give France a lifeline.

And England were made to pay a heavy price for that miss in the dying minutes of the game.

Substitute Emile Heskey needlessly gave away a foul on the edge of the area and the imperious Zidane strode forward to send a curling free-kick past James.

And England then lost all sense of discipline when Gerrard attempted a dangerous back-pass to James, with Henry in close pursuit.

The France striker pounced on the loose ball and was hauled to the ground by a despairing James.

Referee Markus Merk pointed to the spot and Zidane showed no nerves as he converted the penalty with aplomb to hand France victory and control of Group B.



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France: Barthez, Gallas, Thuram, Silvestre (Sagnol 79), Lizarazu, Pires (Wiltord 76), Vieira, Makelele, Zidane, Trezeguet, Henry.
Subs Not Used: Landreau, Boumsong, Dacourt, Desailly, Govou, Marlet, Pedretti, Rothen, Saha.

Booked: Pires, Silvestre.

England: James, Gary Neville, King, Campbell, Ashley Cole, Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes (Hargreaves 76), Rooney (Heskey 76), Owen (Vassell 69).
Subs Not Used: Robinson, Bridge, Butt, Carragher, Joe Cole, Dyer, Phil Neville, Terry.

Booked: Scholes, Lampard, James.

Attendance: 64,000

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany).
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As i weep out of joy i think god really loves me, Fianna Fail may have lost the election but two goals in the space of 2 minutes to shut up the cheering w@nk*rs that are english fans, the only thing that i can wish for more is england being kicked out of euro 2004 for rioting.......lets just pray

 

just wait until the final england vs france eng3 france 0
ansd where are ireland hey didnt even get in ok shim...
_X_X_X_X_X_[small]pentium 4 3,2ghz 1gig ddr 2700
120gig sata hdd
gforce fx 5600 8x agp
6.1 sound
all times 3[/small]

 

Id say the biggest let down (YET AGAIN) was the fans who once again let down a good team (I did say good and not great) with their loutish and embarassing behaviour.

 

And thats Englsh fans , not British as the English TV people say when something goes wrong...........

 

Stewart81

Can you direct me to any links where this "loutish and embarassing behaviour" took place?. Because from where I am (In England) I have not read one report on this bad behaviour. I heard of a few minor scuffles and a few arrests out in Portugal.

I guess that you are Scottish (It's a guess), but hey don't worry mate some time in the next century you may qualify for the championships again. If you're not scottish I apologise for the major character slander on your good self.
_X_X_X_X_X_[small]On Initial Viewing My Backup Looked Terrible,
But With One Eye Closed It Aint Half Bad!![/small]

 

irish i think and well said brian100

 

Well France is a better team. I don`t know if it was the best match.

But Germany will take the whole thing. So England really doesn`t matter. I hope this doesn`t start a fight. My home country sucks (Canada) so I have to chear on Germany.

 

Prisoner

I will be amazed if germany get to the semi's. The German Team is no longer the force it used to be. I have a sniggering for Holland (If they don't self destruct amongst themselves !)

 

Theres a surprise ,Yet more England fans arrested in Portugal. They are so well behaved aren,t they Brian. Also if you look in the news and put your single mindedness aside you would see that 79% of Scots are supporting England. Personally I can't condone violence but if you feel these people who think fighting and making other law abiding citizens suffer is ok then thats your choice.It just lets the rest of us get an insight into your own character.Would you still think its ok if one of your family was injured by an English fan as they innocently walked by. No I don't think so . WELCOME TO CIVILIZATION . Its a shame your patriotism is marred by your ignorance. You can love your country without hating others you know. The last person that I heard of that thought the same way as you was found in a spider hole in Iraq but you carry on because as you will know yourself your always right. I bet you hate all those thousands of people that choose to move North of th border as well.

 

When england played ireland in dublin they rioted however the gardai(irish police) got the best of them anyway they did cause injury so the gardai got out their long batons out and began to teach them a lesson, England fans do riot-alot but british media likes to refer to them as minor incidents-if the same kind of stuff starded between some shelbourne and cork city fans in ireland it would be deemed as a riot, not a minor incident and headline news. The only british media that I think did do a good job on covering england hooligans was panorama on the hooligans around britain, it showed horific images which were never covered by the media-passing them off as "minor incidents"-which brian believes only happen.

Hey stewart I don't know where in ireland you live but if you have ever been to a derry v linfield match you will know how bad british blood can be when it comes to football hooligans

 

Im Scottish Segabhoy . Got a sister in Ireland though , lovely people. Not a Brian in sight

 

stewart81

Well here I am. I am sorry i am not on here 24 hours a day, neither do I recieve a telepathic prompt everytime you post a message.

When you posted your original message there had been no reports of major disturbances of any loutish behaviour, involving english "supporters" in Portugal. FACT. Another fact, when I got up this morning I saw on sky news reports of 12 arrests involving english football fans. That is disgraceful & they should all be deported & procecuted to the maximum.

Yes I agree totally, the VAST majority of english fans are well behaved. Thanks for your support, it's appreciated. You and I both hate the small minority of thugs that use these events to purely get pissed then cause trouble.

I am very broadminded and watch the news everyday, but unfortunately I havent read a report stating that 79% of all Scots are supporting England. A link please would be handy, I would like to read it.

When did I ever condone violence and bad behaviour in my initial post?. I do not condone violence, period!. Honestly god knows where you got that from. I am mystified.

Honestly, you are just being plain stupid now. Again, your bitter & twisted imagination is running totally on overdrive.

Another emotional response. The only hate I can see on this whole thread is being blurted by YOU.

Are you seeing one psychiatrist or a whole team?.

Honestly who cares where who lives where?. Do you mind when people from the North move down south?


On a final note. I think your whole response to me was born from a pure hatred, on your part, of all english people. Come on admit it, you hate us all don't you?. I was just an easy sitting target for you. I would not attempt to stoop to that kind of level, life is just too darn short for that kind of bullshit.

 

SEGAbhoy

I actually saw the panorma programme concerning english football hooligans. Hence I use the word "English" and not "British". I have been around long enough, and seen too many ugly scenes, to realise that england is the major hotbed for "organised" hooliganism. It is totally deplorable and a massive stain on every decent minded Englishman/woman. I do not feel that only "minor" incidents ever happen. The British press are desperate for "hooligan trouble" to report during the Portugal tournament. If they find anything, I can assure you it will hit the headlines. As it should!!, name & shame these thugs!!

You don;t need to reply to this statement. As I am obviously an ultra right wing over patriotic thug.

 

lol, a good old auld enemy argument hehe

i would also like to see a link to that 75% supporting england as beign a scot i now some fellow countrymen an none where supporting england lol.

brian i hope u dont think that cus we scots dont shout for your footy team is cus of hate for u's mate just good bit of rivalry thats all ,u dont get all spurs fans shouting on arsenal in champions league do u?,or sunderland fans shouting on newcastle in the eufa cup against forieign teams.

so Altogether now.....lmao

 

carefree

Hows it going mate, i thought it wouldnt be too long before you got involved

Of course not carefree, you can;t beat a good ole bit of rivalry. I support all british teams nationally & at club level. Id like to see ALL the home countries qualify for every tournament out there. It would be totally awesome.

It's just that when I get accused of condoning violence & being narrow minded & ignorant that I defend myself, perhaps you would aswell?. Being compared to Saddam is just laughable. I dont even look like him and have never had a moustache in my whole life!.

 

hehe,yeah i would defend myself to quite right mate,sadly some up hear just want to blame evething on the english altho it is a minority just like the english holligans are,

On the point of holligans us scots cant get to high and mighty thinking were all sueeky clean man ,its not only an english prob we have it to dont u worry bout that(club+Internatinal),but not reported as much as not in same number scale

anyway im off to watch holland v germany ,that is some seriuos issues there eh some of the things said are way off the fotty issue.

brian im good thanks mate,hope to catch u in ad_buddies soon,take care man