ENGLAND defeated Ukraine in a controversy marred match. The loss eliminated Ukraine from Euro 2012, meaning neither of the tournament’s co-hosts will feature in the knockout stage (Poland was eliminated Sunday).
The final two group stage matches did not disappoint anyone, as Sweden improbably beat France and England triumphed over Ukraine in a very nervy performance.
For the English, a win or draw would have sufficed. After Wayne Rooney’s goal in the 48th minute, Roy Hodgson’s side defended valiantly to the final whistle against a spirited Ukraine team that would not give up in its search for the win that it needed to advance. This match however had its fair share of controversies. Marko Devic had a goal disallowed in 62nd-minute by the UEFA official along the line, who thought that John Terry had cleared the ball.
Few expected much from the Ukrainians, but they gave one of the better national teams in the world a run for their money with an admirable undying attitude and the backing of a passionate group of supporters. England, with a little help from the referees, proved too much in the end.
Out of the six Liverpool players in the squad Johnson and Gerrard started and Carroll gave way for Wayne Rooney and came on as a substitute.
Here is a look at how each of them performed in the match.
Andy CARROLL
Andy Carroll came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute. With England already leading 1-0 there was very little to do for the Liverpool striker. So, rating him would be a bit harsh on my part.
Player rating: N/A
Glen JOHNSON
Glen Johnson has had a pretty good tournament so far. He was good while defending against the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franck Ribery in the previous two fixtures. However his display against Ukraine was a disappointing one. He was poor on the ball and spent the majority of the game in a position where he made it hard for himself to defend when Ukraine attacked, mainly by Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko who were based on the flanks.
Ukraine regarded as an underdog and tipped to finish at the bottom of the group dominated and created much better chances than England. Konoplyanka tormented Johnson in a way that Ribery and Ibrahimovic failed to do so. He had it easy running past Johnson down the flanks.
Note – it is not being suggested that Johnson was the worst performer on the night for England, but he certainly could have done better at this level.
Player rating: 6/10
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Steven GERRARD
Much of Gerrard’s international career has been characterised by him failing to replicate his club form for his country, but when he wears the captain’s armband, he takes the responsibility seriously. Sat in a deeper role alongside Scott Parker, Gerrard has been a model of discipline and restraint as he has stuck to his more defensively-minded brief in Poland and Ukraine. He has been the only bright spot in otherwise dull and disappointing England team in the group stages.
The most important game so far in the tournament and once again “Captain Fantastic” did his job to almost perfection. Starting as a deep lying midfielder, Gerrard was the heart of the English midfield and once again, proved to be the difference between the two sides. After a great work down the right flank, Gerrard whipped in a perfect cross, which left Rooney very little to do, courtesy a blunder from the Ukrainian Goalie. Gerrard’s performance against Ukraine is his best of the tournament so far. He wasn’t officially credited with the assist – because of the deflections on his cross – but his passing display was his most reliable of the competition so far. Balls from deep positions were rarely wasted, with possession generally only conceded when trying a killer pass or a cross. He ended the game with most accurate passes and had more touches than any other English player.
Player rating: 8.5/10
Daniel AGGER v Germany
Denmark bowed out Euro 2012 after a heart breaking defeat to Germany. Needing a win, the Danes drew level through Krohn-Dehli in the 24th minute after Podolski had given Germany the lead. The Danes showed great composure and passion as they held the Germans to the same score line until the 81st minute, when a defensive lapse set free Lars Bender to make it 2-1 to Germany.
Though they ended up being the losing side the Danes put their best foot forward and didn’t pull it back all game long, like Daniel Agger, for example. They did not let the Germans dictate the terms and made them toil and sweat for the victory.
Every time the Danes made a perfectly timed interception on a 1-2 pass from the Germans, it was Agger making the interception. He hustled for 90 minutes, never tired and kept his defence on their toes. The stat line really speaks for itself: 10 interceptions and 8 clearances. That’s 18 occasions in which Agger was in the right place at the right time to stop a German attack. No wonder Liverpool fans rate him so highly. He left the hard tackles to his team-mates, but he was the ultimate ‘cleaner-upper’.
Another big match and another big performance by the captain, which however was not enough in the end.
Player rating: 8.5/10
Thanks a lot for reading. You can find me on Twitter @LEONGUI7E
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Ukraine being deftd by england has totly been on talk As ppl was not being not happy with it but we see at the end its the luck and the game being played !!!!!!