Euro 2012 daily update: Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Joleon Lescott’s header gave England a lead, but Samir Nasri’s equaliser just before half time ensured a share of the spoils for Laurent Blanc’s men.

Steven Gerrard whipped in a free kick from the right hand side, after Patrice Evra was adjudged to have fouled James Milner. Lescott, in the team in place of the injured Gary Cahill, got away from marker Alou Diarra and powered a header past Hugo Lloris at the far post. Englanf’s lead lasted for only nine minutes however, as Samir Nasri’s low drive beat Manchester City teammate Joe Hart at his near post. Speaking after the match, Nasri admitted he’d used his knowledge of Hart’s weaknesses in order to beat him.

The stats didn’t lie - England managed three attempts on goal during the 90 minutes, with one shot on target, whilst France managed 19 shots, 15 of which were on target. The passing statistics didn’t make for comfortable viewing either, as France completed 634 passes to England’s 307. That said, Roy Hodgson’s tactics worked, and England can go into their next match against the Swedes with a certain degree of confidence.

GDANSK, POLAND - JUNE 09: In this handout image provided by UEFA, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque talks to the media during a UEFA EURO 2012 press conference at the Municipal Stadium on June 9, 2012 in Gdansk, Poland. (Photo by Handout/UEFA via Getty Images)

In last night’s other match, Sweden took on co-hosts Ukraine in Kiev in an enthralling match that saw two goals from the evergreen Andriy Shevchenko give the Ukrainians a 2-1 win, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s opener counting for little in the end. ‘Sheva’ had been the subject of criticism during his time at Chelsea, but he rolled back the years last night with two well-taken goals in front of thousands of yellow-clad Ukrainian supporters crammed into the Olympic Stadium.

Sweden, who qualified as the ‘best’ runner-up, looked a shadow of the team that had amassed 31 goals in qualfiying, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 52-minute goal - the striker tapping Kim Kallstrom’s cutback past Pyatov in the Ukrainian goal from close range - was the bright spot for the Swedes. However, the 35-year-old Shevchenko, who has battled niggling injuries recently, got on the end of Andriy Yarmolenko’s cross less than five minutes later, his diving header beating Andreas Isaksson in the Swedish goal. On the hour mark, Shevchenko added his second, heading home at the near post from a corner, after shaking off his marker. He was substituted shortly after, going off to a standing ovation, with fans chanting ‘Sheva! Sheva!’ proving there’s life in the old dog yet.

• The racism row at Euro 2012 thunders on, with UEFA confirming they are investigating claims that Italy striker Mario Balotelli was the subject of racist abuse, believed to be in the form of monkey chants, from Spain fans in the 1-1 draw between the two countries. UEFA are also said to be looking into claims of similar chants being aimed at Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, in his side’s 4-1 loss to Russia. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has, however, denied that Balotelli was the subject of racist abuse.

• Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack has slammed England’s ultra-defensive performance against France. The French managed 19 shots on goal, whilst England only had one shot on target in the 90 minutes. Ballack complained: “I’m really disappointed with the game. England wanted the point and they got one, but is this the way to play football in the future? I’m not sure. If you’re parking three buses in front of the goal, that’s not football.” Quite.

• Petr Cech has warned Greece that the Czech Republic will be fired up for tonight’s clash. Cech shipped four goals as Russia swept the Czechs aside in their opening match, and defeat tonight would see Michal Bilek’s side become the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.

• UEFA have confirmed they have opened disciplinary proceedings against the Croatian Football Federation for incidents involving fans at their match with the Republic of Ireland.

• Greece coach Fernando Santos faces something of a selection headache ahead of the game. Defender Sokratis Papastathopolous is ruled out following his sending off against Poland, whilst Avraam Papadopolous and Giorgos Fotakis are both missing through injury. Kyriakos Papadopolous is set to start following his substitute appearance in the opening match.

• The Polish FA have dismissed Spain’s complaints about the pitch following their 1-1 draw with Italy. Both Andres Iniesta and manager Vicente del Bosque complained that the pitch was too dry, whilst Polish media reported that the grass at Gdansk’s PGE Arena was too long, and officials had asked for it to be cut. However, Grzegorz Lato, chief of the Polish FA has played down the complaints, insisting the grass was a perfect length - but he did concede that the Italians hadn’t wanted the pitch watered in order to hamper Spain’s passing game.

• Germany striker Mario Gomez has hit back at criticism of his performance against Portugal. Gomez, whose 72nd minute goal gave the Germans a 1-0 win, was the subject of stinging criticism from former German international Mehmet Scholl, who questioned his contribution. Gomez has hit back, however, proclaiming himself to have been ‘the most successful striker in Germany over the last five or six years.’

• Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has told Sunderland youngster James McClean to bide his time. Trapattoni replaced winger Aiden McGeady with Simon Cox in the Republic of Ireland’s 3-1 defeat to Croatia, leaving McClean to kick his heels on the bench. The Italian stressed that he wanted goalscorers on the pitch, pointing out that Cox has a better goalscoring record for the team than any of his wingers.

• Samir Nasri has explained his bizarre goal celebration after equalising against England last night. The Manchester City midfielder appeared to shout ‘Shut your mouth’ at Gary Neville on the England bench, but Nasri has since insisted it was aimed at a French sports reporter from L’Equipe, who had questioned the player’s involvement in the international team.

• Greece’s goal hero from their match with co-hosts Poland is the subject of interest from the English Premier League. Dimitris Salpingidis is rumoured to be on the radar of several English clubs including Wigan, Stoke, Norwich and the newly-promoted Reading. Salpingidis does have experience of the EPL - he scored against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in last season’s Europa League group stages for PAOK.

TODAY’S MATCH SCHEDULE

Greece v Czech Republic

ITV, 5.00pm

Poland v Russia

ITV, 7.45pm

ONE TO WATCH - Alan Dzagoev (Russia)

Alan Dzagoev grabbed a double against the Czech Republic in Russia’s opening game, and put in a fine performance overall. Whilst Poland are coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw with Greece - in which a late penalty save from substitute keeper Przemysław Tyton prevented a Greek win - the Russians will be wary of not affording the co-hosts enough respect. Dzagoev could be the man to inspire Russia to a second group win, either through his goals or by providing the ammunition for the strikers.

EURO FACTS

There are, to date, six players who have appeared in four different European Championships. Lothar Matthaus of Germany appeared at the 1980, 1984, 1988 and 2000 championships; Danish keeper Peter Schmeichel represented his country at the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 tournaments; Dutchman Aron Winter was selected for the Netherlands squad in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, whilst Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero played in the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 championships. Edwin van der Sar, the now-retired Dutch goalkeeper, was between the sticks at the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 tournaments and French defender Lilian Thuram appeared in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. Van der Sar and Del Piero are the only two to have never won a tournament whilst playing for the national side.

STRANGE BUT TRUE...

Greece goalkeeper Kostas Chialkis was the subject of ridicule and much hilarity last year as he warmed up for PAOK’s match against rivals Aris. After being struck by a missile, Chialkis threw himself to the ground, injuring himself in the process. The ‘missile’ turned out to be a ball of paper.

MEMORABLE GOAL OF EUROS PAST

Paul Gascoigne: England v Scotland (Euro 1996)

England’s midfield maestro had courted controversy following an incident prior to this match - which he poked fun at during his bizarre ‘dentist’s chair’ celebration - but the quality of this goal was probably enough to overshadow events off the pitch. With England a goal to the good against Scotland, Gascoigne picked the ball up around 25 yards from goal, flicked it over the head of Colin Hendry with his left foot before rifling the ball past Andy Goram with his right foot.

LATEST ODDS

TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Germany 3/1; Spain 3/1; France 8/1; Russia 11/1

TOP GOALSCORER

Mario Gomez 6/1; Alan Dzagoev 9/1; Karim Benzema 12/1; Andriy Shevchenko 14/1

RESULTS SO FAR

Friday June 8th

Greece 1-1 Poland

Russia 4-1 Czech Rep.

Saturday June 9th

Denmark 1-0 Netherlands

Germany 1-0 Portugal

Sunday June 10th

Spain 1-1 Italy

Rep. Ireland 1-3 Croatia

Monday June 11th

France 1-1 England

Ukraine 2-1 Sweden