Euro 2012: England had to draw on big hearts, says Scott Parker

Scott Parker praised England’s big hearts and commitment after they held France to a 1-1 draw in their opening Euro 2012 clash on Monday. But the Tottenham midfielder is unsure whether such qualities alone will be sufficient to win tournaments.

Midfielder Parker played a key part in helping to stifle the threat of France, who dominated possession and were the better side during the second half. Now England will look to build on their encouraging start against Sweden in Kiev on Friday and then host nation Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday.

Parker said: “I think it was a good result and something for us to build on. We did pretty well. We were disappointed to concede against a good French team but sometimes they are going to stretch you a bit. They have very good individuals who get into pockets all over the pitch.

“We probably would have taken the point beforehand. It was hot and difficult and they are a very good team. The one thing we showed was a lot of big hearts, courage and commitment.

“Whether that wins you tournaments, I don’t know. But it is a base for us to build on and hopefully we can do that. The manager was very positive afterwards. That’s the way it has to be. The only way you get going in life is by being positive and looking for the ups rather than the downs.”

Parker knows there is room for improvement, with England only posing a spasmodic threat in attack. He said: “I’m sure we will do a bit more work leading into the Sweden game on things we could do a little better.

“Hopefully we can get a little bit more going forward and go from there. On paper France were the favourites in the group and now we will go into the other two games and try and get a result there. But Sweden will be difficult. We’ve not got the best of records in competition against Sweden so it will be tough.”

Parker, who was troubled by an Achilles injury ahead of the tournament, was substituted during the second-half. But he insisted: “I’m fine really. I had a bit of fatigue and cramp and I just didn’t want to put the team or myself in a vulnerable position.”

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the surprise inclusion by manager Roy Hodgson but the 18-year-old knows he has to be ready for such opportunities.

He said: “To be selected for this squad was a massive step for me and to be called into the team for the first game was a massive honour for me. I approached the game in the best way I could and worked hard for the team.

“Everything has come as a bit of a surprise to me at the moment. It has been a mad year and everything has been going quickly. But you’ve got to remind yourself I was one of the initial people selected for the squad so that means I’ve got to be ready to do the job when called upon. You quickly get your mind around that and just focus on the job.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain admits to being frustrated at not making more of an impact against the French. He said: “I think it went okay. I showed what I can do in bits. It was quite frustrating for myself to try and get into the positions I like to get into and get at defenders.

“But it’s not about me. It’s about me and the country. I tried to do a good defensive job for the team and make sure we got the right result.”

Harry Redknapp, meanwhile, insists nothing short of three points will suffice against the Swedes on Friday. Redknapp believes an ageing Sweden side should pose few problems for England. The Spurs manager highlighted Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a threat but believes a lack of talent around the striker means England should not lose too much sleep against a side that began their finals campaign with a 2-1 defeat to co-hosts Ukraine on Monday.

“We all know about Zlatan Ibrahimovic but there’s not that much quality around him,” Redknapp explained. “Anders Svensson played for me at Southampton and he’s 35 now! He came on for half an hour last night, while Olof Mellberg, 34, played all 90 minutes. I’m not sure what Jonas Olsson was doing on the bench, he’s a player I really like for West Brom and I don’t think he’d have been caught out like Mellberg was for Ukraine’s first goal. There’s not enough talent in the Swedish line-up and I think England have to go for the win from their second game.”

Redknapp also was also full of praise for England’s performance against the French. “I particularly liked what I saw at the back, especially Glen Johnson, who got forward plenty of times and looked a real danger,” he added. “The five are a good unit and I back them to keep a clean sheet against the Swedish attack.”