Everything seemed to say France, and instead it will be England. Blanc's men "committed suicide" yesterday evening against the already eliminated Sweden and therefore lost first place in group D to the advantage of the English, who will therefore be the next opponents of the Azzurri in the quarterfinals on Sunday evening in Kiev, while the transalpines will have to favorite Spain.
England, on the other hand, defeated Ukraine 1-0 and therefore earned – in addition to first place in group D - the challenge in the quarterfinals with Prandelli's Azzurri. A goal by Rooney was enough against an even excellent Ukraine, who attacked and dominated in ball possession for most of the match, and also saw a regular goal by Devic not being validated in the second half.
Is it better this way for Italy? It's hard to say, even Hodgson's England are a formidable team, even if what they've shown so far in these European Championships shouldn't be irresistible. Perhaps so far he had convinced France slightly more, before being sensationally knocked down by Ibrahimovic.
