British pop star Noel Gallagher, left, and former soccer player Chris Kamara, right, wait for the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Sweden and England in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
British pop star Noel Gallagher, left, and former soccer player Chris Kamara, right, wait for the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Sweden and England in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's supporters cheer prior to the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Sweden and England in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A Swedish fan cheers before the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Sweden and England in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A Swedish fan sings before the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between Sweden and England in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? France beats co-host Ukraine 2-0 in Donetsk, Ukraine, in their second Group D match at the European Championship. Next, Sweden plays England in Kiev.
Here is a running account of Friday's action. All times are local to Poland.
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2100: Sweden, in yellow and blue, get the game underway against England, in blue.
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2056: Rasmus Elm and Kim Kallstrom are a booking away from a suspension tonight for Sweden. Ashley Young is too, for England.
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mattekaren: The size of English fan section is downright paltry compared to Swedish. Most of Olympic Stadium is blue-and-yellow; and not Ukrainian kind. (via Twitter)
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2055: France wins a game that will be remembered as much for the thunderstorm that suspended play for almost an hour as the action on the pitch. France had much more poise in attack and could have scored more than two goals it got from Jeremy Menez and Yohan Cabaye. France is surely one the title contenders at Euro 2012. The players are out in Kiev for Sweden-England.
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2047: FULLTIME! Ukraine 0, France 2
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2039: France is seeing out this game pretty comfortably. Five minutes left. Aliyev takes a free kick for Ukraine but hits it way over the bar.
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2032: Ribery sends a free kick from 25 yards inches over the crossbar as France threatens more goals. Benzema will have to wait a little longer for his first goal at Euro 2012 as he is being taken off for Olivier Giroud. Benzema does not look too happy about that decision. 2-0 to France with around 15 minutes remaining.
(at)RobHarris Hodgson on Carroll starting: "Against a team with the height and power of Sweden we needed as much aerial height as possible" (via Twitter)
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2025: England has named its lineup for the match against Sweden. Andy Carroll is in for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the only change:
England: Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker, James Milner, Ashley Young, Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck.
Sweden named its team early in the day:
Sweden: Isaksson, Granqvist, Mellberg, J Olsson, M Olsson, Svensson, Kallstrom, Larsson, Ibrahimovic, Elm, Elmander.
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2022: Cabaye hits the post! After a stunning spell of possession, the ball breaks loose to the Newcastle midfielder at the edge of the area and his fierce strike hits the outside of the goal frame. Ukraine's goalkeeper didn't even move.
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2017: The French are threatening to run away with this game. Benzema, searching for his first goal of the tournament, gets a shot away from outside the penalty area for France, but it is straight at Myatov. Les Bleus are on the verge of making it 23 games unbeaten.
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2012: That's two goals in a four-minute span and France is going top of the group. Cabaye scores his first international goal when he runs on to Karim Benzema's diagonal through-ball and shoots left-footed into the far corner. Ukraine's players look stunned.
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2008: Finally, Menez gets his goal! The Paris Saint-Germain winger cuts inside from the right and shoots left-footed inside the near post. The Donbass Arena is silenced. Hold on, another goal for France...
GOAL! Ukraine 0, France 2 (Cabaye)
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2005: GOAL! Ukraine 0, France 1 (Menez)
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1958: Second half is under way. Marko Devic replaces Andriy Voronin for Ukraine. The English Football Association says the Sweden-England match in Kiev has been put back 15 minutes because of the rain delay in Donetsk. So the games will no longer clash.
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1943: HALFTIME: Ukraine 0, France 0.
There continues to be opportunities at both ends. Mexes rises at the back post and powers a header at goal which is saved well by Myatov. That was the last chance of a bright and breezy half.
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1935: And now a chance for Shevchenko. The striker chests down a high ball over the top of the France defense and strikes a half-volley that Lloris bats away. That's Ukraine's best chance so far. Five minutes until halftime.
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1929: What a chance for Menez! An overhit pass to Gusev at right back is stolen by Ribery, who cuts inside and crosses for Benzema in the middle of the area. The ball goes behind the Real Madrid striker but finds Menez, whose first-time shot is blocked by the legs of Myatov.
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1923: The pitch is holding up well after such an unbelievable downpour only an hour ago. Andriy Yarmolenko goes close for Ukraine, coming in from the right before hitting a low left-foot shot that goes just the wrong side of the post.
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1915: France has the ball in the back of the net but it's disallowed for offside, correctly so. Franck Ribery played in Jeremy Menez, who slotted home a neat finish, but the Ukraine defense had stepped up very quickly. That's good defending. Still 0-0.
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1910: France's players are enjoying more possession in the early stages and seem to be coping better on the wet turf since the match has resumed. Benzema had a slight opening in the area, but delayed on the ball and was eventually crowded out by defenders.
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1902: The match has restarted and, almost straightaway, Benzema smashes in a fierce shot that is parried by goalkeeper Pyatov.
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1858: The stadium announcer says the match will shortly resume. Good news. The match will restart at 4:20 minutes.
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1854: France coach Laurent Blanc has been walking out on the pitch with tournament director Martin Kallen, surveying the state of the pitch. It is much better than it was, but still very, very wet out there. Referee Kuipers has also come out and is seeing how the ball rolls in the worst-affected area of the pitch. There's not much bounce there. The fans in the stadium are cheering ? they want this game to restart!
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1845: The groundsmen are out in force, prodding the sodden areas of the pitch. It's stopped raining, so the situation looks a lot roser.
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1835: It's ironic that the chorus of the song being played in the stadium is, "Let It Rain Over Me" by Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony. Nice choice! It's still raining...
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1830: Patches of the pitch are completely waterlogged. Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin is standing in the tunnel, looking concerned and with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. UEFA says play will not resume before 2000 local time (1900 Polish time). So, the two matches will definitely overlap if Ukraine-France resumes. Not sure television companies will be happy with that!
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1825: There's a danger that if the players do get back on, the game will run over into the group's match ? Sweden vs. England in Kiev. By the way, 4 minutes, 20 seconds were played before the match was suspended.
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1817: (at)mattekaren Incredible images of the lightning over the stadium in Donetsk. That pitch doesn't look like it will be playable any time soon. (via Twitter)
There will be a pitch inspection before the players are allowed back on, but there is no sign of the rain abating. France's Franck Ribery and Ukraine's Anatoliy Tymoshcuk ? teammates at Bayern Munich ? are chatting in the tunnel.
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1813: UEFA rules state that if play is postponed for the rest of the day, the players will come back to complete the remaining minutes tomorrow. There are, of course, some crazy fans in the stands ? both French and Ukrainian ? who are taking their clothes off and dancing in the rain. One French fan is rolling around like a fish on the steps in the stand. These scenes are incredible.
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1808: There is thunder and lightning in Donetsk and the players have been taken off by the referee for their own safety. Only around four minutes had been played. No idea how long the break will be. The rain was so strong that the fans in the front row had fled to the back of the stands to avoid getting a soaking!
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1805: MATCH SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF A THUNDERSTORM!
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1800: And we're off. There was a huge roar from the crowd as the French kicked off. It really is pouring down out there.
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1756: It's raining in Donetsk as the players sing the national anthems. Bjorn Kuipers of the Netherlands is the referee for the match.
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1748: Ukraine is unchanged so veteran striker Andriy Shevchenko starts on his own again up front after his double in the 2-1 win over Sweden in their first game. He is retiring from international football after the tournament so there aren't many more chances to see the former AC Milan and Chelsea player on this stage.
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1743:(at)jeromepugmire French paradox: 22 games unbeaten;8 games without a win at a major tournament. Both trends could still continue with a draw. (via Twitter)
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1738: France coach Laurent Blanc has made two changes, dropping defender Patrice Evra and midfielder Florent Malouda for Gael Clichy and Jeremy Menez. Evra losing his place is a surprising one ? he captained Manchester United for the second half of this season and was France captain at the 2010 World Cup. Ukraine will qualify for the quarterfinals with a win at the Donbass Arena.
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1730: Here are the lineups for Ukraine vs. France:
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov, Yevhen Selin, Oleh Gusev, Taras Michalik, Yevhen Khacheridi, Anatoliy Tymoshcuk, Andriy Voronin, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Serhiy Nazarenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Andriy Shevchenko.
France: Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Adil Rami, Philippe Mexes, Gael Clichy, Yohan Cabaye, Alou Diarra, Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri, Jeremy Menez, Karim Benzema.
Substitutes:
Ukraine: Maxym Koval, Oleksandr Goryainov, Olexandr Kucher, Denys Garmash, Olexandr Aliyev, Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ruslan Rotan, Artem Milevsky, Yevhen Seleznyov, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Bohdan Butko, Marko Devic.
France: Steve Mandanda, Cedric Carrasso, Patrice Evra, Mathieu Valbuena, Olivier Giroud, Blaise Matuidi, Anthony Reveillere, Florent Malouda, Yann M'Vila, Marvin Martin, Hatem Ben Arfa, Laurent Koscielny.
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