England manager Roy Hodgson was delighted to see his side beat Ukraine 1-0 at Euro 2012 last night and in so doing top Group D, a section the former Finland manager believes was tough going

 

The Three Lions were handed the lead when Wayne Rooney headed in from close range following good work from Steven Gerrard just after half time.

 

Ukraine, who needed to win to make the quarter-finals, threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but were denied by John Terry, who hooked a Marko Devic shot out of the goalmouth. Replays clearly showed that Devic’s effort had crossed the line, though neither of UEFA’s officials monitoring the line felt able to award a goal.

 

The co-hosts continued to press, but England held firm and with Sweden beating France 2-0 in the other Group D game, Hodgson’s men set up a quarter-final clash on Sunday against Italy, avoiding Spain by topping the section.

 

“We are very pleased to have won the group”, said Hodgson post-match.

 

“I don’t think it was an easy group to win because, as you saw tonight, the host nation, Ukraine, have a lot of good players and they did what they needed to do to put us under pressure.

 

“France lost for the first time in 24 matches and Sweden are the team that actually ended France’s run.”

 

Now Hodgson’s men face a much sterner test in Cesare Prandelli’s Azzurri, who finished second behind Spain in Group C.

 

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