France and England shared the points in Ukraine as the two Group D rivals cancelled each other out in a rather dull affair. Joleon Lescott’s header in the first half gave England the lead before Samir Nasri equalized almost immediately for France. Laurent Blanc’s men had most of the pressure in the second half, but Roy Hodgson’s new look side-defended solidly and was probably pleased with the end result.

It was a slow start to a previously classic encounter, England met France for the last time the Three Lions were in the Euro’s but despite scoring in the opening five minutes of their last two major tournaments, Roy Hodgson’s men were happy enough to sit back and counter in the early exchanges. Samir Nasri was seeing the most of the ball and he had the first real chance when he shot wide of Joe Hart’s near post from the edge of the area.

But it was England who probably should have opened the scoring, a thrusting run from the midfield saw James Milner get on the end of Ashley Young’s pass but the Manchester City midfielder slid the ball wide after rounding Hugo Lloris. Yohan Cabaye immediately tested Hart again at the other end but the early exchanges had been fairly even.

But despite the game being played at a slow pace England made the breakthrough on the half-hour mark as Joleon Lescott headed in his first goal for his country from Steven Gerrard’s free-kick. France had perhaps shaded the opening thirty minutes but England’s opener gave them the impetus to attack a French side whose defense looked shaky. But it was the team in blue who almost equalized from their own free-kick, Alou Diarra got on the end of Nasri’s cross and made Hart make a save, before heading the re-bound just wide of the post.

It was a warning sign for England of what the French could do given the chance, the goal stretching the game more and more as France tried to find a response. They soon found it after some neat passing through midfield and it was Samir Nasri who finally beat his City team-mate Joe Hart at the near post. Nasri had looked the biggest threat to England’s defense, time and time again finding space between the midfield and defence.

England managed to get to half-time at 1-1 as France were very much in the ascendancy after the equalizer. It was more of the same after the break as France dominated possession and England was once again happy to sit back and use the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Young to counter the pressure. England did get forward eventually and the referee denied them a free-kick in a good position when Steven Gerrard was clearly brought down on the edge of the French penalty area.

There wasn’t a lot to shout about as the game reached the final 25 minutes, England were still happy to allow France to come at them, but Les Blues couldn’t do anything to break down the water-tight England defense. The French passing game was easy on the eye but wasn’t producing any productivity in the penalty area, Joe Hart only being tested from set-pieces and long range efforts.

England was growing frustrated at France’s possession game, and more so at the referee who seemed reluctant to give England any sort of decision. Roy Hodgson was the first to mix things up with just over ten minutes remaining, Jordan Henderson and Jermain Defoe replacing Scott Parker and Oxlade-Chamberlain respectively.

But it was still France on top, Nasri saw a shot deflected wide before Cabaye also had an effort deflected out from the resulting corner. The game was becoming very stretched and as France looked for a winner, England’s counter attacking tactics came more into play. Laurent Blanc responded to Hodgson’s changes and introduced Hatem Ben Arfa and Marvin Martin to add some more energy with five minutes remaining in Donestk.

But the final few minutes passed by without any real drama, England held off France’s final spell of pressure as the two favourites to progress from Group D sharing a point each.

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The final group, including England & France, under the new guidance of Roy Hodgson, the Three Lions will face Euro 2000 champions France as well as Sweden and hosts Ukraine. But it’s not just England who have young talent flowing through their ranks, the other three sides will all have talent to look out for in June.

Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev & Ukraine)

This 22-year old is making big noises in Ukraine. Andriy Yarmolenko is a tricky left-footed winger and is approaching 100 appearances for his club. In those 84 games he’s managed 30 goals and broke on to the international scene in 2009. With 18 caps and 7 goals Yarmolenko is a dead cert to go to the EURO’s this summer and could be a dangerous customer for right-backs to deal with in Group D.

Emir Bajrami (Twente & Sweden)

There are some talented players coming through the Eredivisie right now and Emir Bajrami is one of them. The Swedish winger has attracted the interest from some of the top European clubs and will be a big threat in his national side in Ukraine.

After five years at Elfsborg, Bajrami made the move to FC Twente and scored his first goal for Sweden just a week later. He’s made 15 appearances for Sweden scoring 2 goals and could be in the starting XI when they face up to the hosts next month.

John Guidetti (Manchester City & Sweden)

John Guidetti may be on the City payroll, but not everybody will know who this young striker is. Guidetti has been out on loan at Feyenoord and has made a big impact in Holland. He’s got 20 goals in 23 games and made his international debut this year, giving him a fighting chance of getting a spot on the plane next month.

He’ll be returning to Manchester soon and may find it difficult to break through with the array of talent ahead of him at the Etihad, but if Guidetti was to go elsewhere he looks like he could be a steal for a team that creates chances because Guidetti is a goal scorer.

Oliver Giroud (Montpellier & France)

If anyone can stop the drought of goals that France seems to be suffering with at major tournaments recently, it could be this young man. Oliver Giroud has come to the attention of several top clubs and has been scouted extensively by Liverpool.

He began to make a name for himself in France with Tours where he scored 38 goals in 69 games before getting a move to Montpellier. One of the key men in their rise up the Ligue 1 table, his 37 goals there brought him to the attention of Laurent Blanc last year, and he’s already scored for France after just three appearances. He could be an outsider to be a big hit at this year’s tournament.

Kyle Walker (Tottenham & England)

Because I know much more about my country’s national side than I do with the other 15 teams, I could obviously have named any amount of players that we could take to Ukraine this summer, but I’m going to focus on two. Kyle Walker has just won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and could be England’s starting right-back at this summer’s championships.

With Micah Richards struggling with injuries and Glen Johnson out of form, Walker looks almost certain to go to the EURO’s and will most likely be in the first XI. With bags of pace, a good future and apparently a great free-kick, Walker will be one to watch this summer…plus he’ll have to deal with Yarmolenko and Baljrami!

Danny Welbeck (Manchester United & England)

Danny Welbeck has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. A loan spell at Sunderland last season did wonders for his form and confidence and he’s become a first choice in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side this season, becoming the main partner for Wayne Rooney.

With Rooney suspended for England’s two opening games, Welbeck seems the likely choice to lead the line against France and Sweden. His goalscoring return isn’t that of a clinical striker, but he’s chipped in and has proven to be a great team player for United. Can he be the man to fire England to glory?

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