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14/06/2004
'We didn't deserve that' says Becks after France defeat
In a brief post-match interview, a devastated David Beckham issued a simple assessment of the night's dramatic events, and captured what every England football fan must have been feeling; "We didn’t deserve that," he said.
Zinedine Zidane's double strike in injury time dramatically robbed England of three points – after Eriksson's men had clung tenaciously to a one-goal lead courtesy of Frank Lampard's deft first-half header.
It was cruel for England - for 89 minutes they were polished and self-assured, but two errors in two minutes changed the complexion of Group B.
"England have been ambushed", was how the incredulous ITV commentary team summed it up.
Defending European champions France grew in confidence in the second period and attacked with pace and guile, but a resolute England defence managed to frustrate Les Blues at every turn. And so it should have ended – but Emile Heskey's clumsy challenge on Claude Makelele just five yards outside the England box invited the game's best player to have a dip.
Zidane's freekick flew to the right of a rigid David James, silencing England's 35,000 travelling support. A minute later, an ill-judged backpass from Steven Gerrard was pounced on by Thierry Henry, leaving an advancing David James no option but to clatter the Frenchman to the ground. Zidane slotted the penalty and the game was turned on its head; heartache for England.
However, this was a gutsy performance that must rank as the best of Eriksson's tenure. Tottenham's Ledley King, playing in only his first competitive international, was an assured presence in defence. Everton wunderkind Wayne Rooney showed no fear of an experienced and classy French side, and was a thorn in the side of the opposition back four. Indeed, he won a penalty in the 71st minute, only for Beckham to spurn the chance to put England two up and kill the game off.
After the game, Steven Gerrard, who was a commanding presence in the centre of the park, acknowledged his mistake, and thanked fans for their support.
"I didn't see Thierry and I gave a bad pass, but these things happen in football and I will bounce back. I can promise the fans I will make up for it and I'm glad it happened in the first game and so I have a chance to do that," he said.
Despite seeing a penalty saved by Fabien Barthez, Gary Neville backed his captain to continue taking penalties.
"That was a good penalty he took tonight. He smashed it right in the corner but Fabien has gone very early and made a great save. Obviously if he misses the target or scuffs it then people might question it. But the way he hit that penalty was like Zidane's, but Zidane's went in," he said.
Manchester United stalwart Neville said that the team were disappointed but "we still believe we can come through".
"We will pick ourselves up. We have been hit and pushed back onto the ropes but we live to fight another day. If somebody asked me if this is one of the most disappointing things that's happened to me I would say it's not - because we have two more matches to put it right and reach a European Championship quarter-final," he added.
England plays Switzerland on Thursday.
(gmcg)
Zinedine Zidane's double strike in injury time dramatically robbed England of three points – after Eriksson's men had clung tenaciously to a one-goal lead courtesy of Frank Lampard's deft first-half header.
It was cruel for England - for 89 minutes they were polished and self-assured, but two errors in two minutes changed the complexion of Group B.
"England have been ambushed", was how the incredulous ITV commentary team summed it up.
Defending European champions France grew in confidence in the second period and attacked with pace and guile, but a resolute England defence managed to frustrate Les Blues at every turn. And so it should have ended – but Emile Heskey's clumsy challenge on Claude Makelele just five yards outside the England box invited the game's best player to have a dip.
Zidane's freekick flew to the right of a rigid David James, silencing England's 35,000 travelling support. A minute later, an ill-judged backpass from Steven Gerrard was pounced on by Thierry Henry, leaving an advancing David James no option but to clatter the Frenchman to the ground. Zidane slotted the penalty and the game was turned on its head; heartache for England.
However, this was a gutsy performance that must rank as the best of Eriksson's tenure. Tottenham's Ledley King, playing in only his first competitive international, was an assured presence in defence. Everton wunderkind Wayne Rooney showed no fear of an experienced and classy French side, and was a thorn in the side of the opposition back four. Indeed, he won a penalty in the 71st minute, only for Beckham to spurn the chance to put England two up and kill the game off.
After the game, Steven Gerrard, who was a commanding presence in the centre of the park, acknowledged his mistake, and thanked fans for their support.
"I didn't see Thierry and I gave a bad pass, but these things happen in football and I will bounce back. I can promise the fans I will make up for it and I'm glad it happened in the first game and so I have a chance to do that," he said.
Despite seeing a penalty saved by Fabien Barthez, Gary Neville backed his captain to continue taking penalties.
"That was a good penalty he took tonight. He smashed it right in the corner but Fabien has gone very early and made a great save. Obviously if he misses the target or scuffs it then people might question it. But the way he hit that penalty was like Zidane's, but Zidane's went in," he said.
Manchester United stalwart Neville said that the team were disappointed but "we still believe we can come through".
"We will pick ourselves up. We have been hit and pushed back onto the ropes but we live to fight another day. If somebody asked me if this is one of the most disappointing things that's happened to me I would say it's not - because we have two more matches to put it right and reach a European Championship quarter-final," he added.
England plays Switzerland on Thursday.
(gmcg)
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