Fancied French fail to flatten functional England

We have been here many times before, watching England being outmanoeuvred by a technically more adept team. However, this time it felt slightly different in that the concession of territory seemed more of a deliberate ploy, encouraging the French to come on to our two solid banks of four who coped pretty well with any threat posed. This was more by tactical design rather than a failure of technique.

In the end, most of the danger mustered by France came from shots outside the penalty area, including Nasri's neatly-executed equaliser and a couple of well-struck attempts by Benzema. Despite his trickery Ribery rarely broke through the shackles of a solid and disciplined defence. England were not cut to ribbons as they were during the friendly at Wembley back in November 2010 and there was a modicum of control and even some calmness on the ball, which distinguished this performance from many in previous tournaments against superior opposition.

Whilst Welbeck did not muster an effort on goal, his overall play was impressive as he held the ball up and distributed it with an accuracy that looked a little strange coming from an English centre forward. Young and Oxlade-Chamberlain scampered to reasonable effect but never quite broke through, whilst Parker was as resolute as ever in tandem with the slightly more adventurous Gerrard.

Unlike so many previous occasions England didn't treat the ball as though it was an unexploded bomb, to be disposed of as quickly as possible. Whilst possession was squandered now and again, at least it looked like England were prepared to hold on to the ball in anticipation of a better option and rotate possession rather than get rid of it regardless. 

Hodgson's achievement, in such a short space of time, is to have instilled in the players a belief that they can stick to a pattern of play where the ball is no longer their enemy, but it is yet to be seen if he can convince them it should be their friend, to be cherished and nurtured. This change in attitude will inevitably take a lot longer to materialise, but at least there are signs of progress.