WARSAW, POLAND (AP) - England beat Ukraine 1-0 on Tuesday, while Sweden _ already eliminated _ beat France 2-0. Co-host Ukraine is now out of the tournament.
Here is a running account of Tuesday’s action. All times are local to Poland.
___
2244: Here are the four quarterfinal fixtures: Czech Republic v Portugal, Germany v Greece, Spain v France and England v Italy.
___
2241: England goes through as the winner of the group and will face Italy in the quarterfinals, after holding off a spirited Ukraine side in a 1-0 win. France finishes in second place following a 2-0 defeat by Sweden, where one of the goals of the tournament was scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The French will play defending champion Spain in the next round.
___
2238: FULL-TIME: Sweden 2, France 0
___
2237: FULL-TIME: England 1, Ukraine 0
___
2235: Larsson smashes a volley home from close range after the ball comes back off the crossbar. It will be France’s first defeat in 24 matches.
___
2234: GOAL! Sweden 2, France 0 (Larsson)
___
2229: Rooney off for England, replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
___
2228: Jeremy Menez, who replaced Nasri, weaves into the penalty area for France and gets his shot in but it is saved by the foot of Isaksson and goes out for a corner. Olivier Giroud, who replaced M’Vila moments before the corner was taken, meets the delivery with a free header but it is wide of the goal. Good opportunity for the striker, who could have scored with his first touch.
___
2225: Danny Welbeck is coming off for England, Andy Carroll replaces him. Ten minutes left in both games.
___
2218: In Kiev, Sweden is still leading France 1-0 thanks to a sensational strike from Ibrahimovic and the Swedes are defending well as France fight to get back level. The results, as they stand, see England qualify as Group D winner and France as runner up.
___
2211: Ukraine really should be level. Marko Devic breaks into the penalty area, sidesteps Terry and shoots. It hits Joe Hart and loops up in the air and John Terry gets a foot to it to clear on the goal-line and the referee waves play on. Replays show the ball had just crossed the line. Expect to hear much more about this in the coming week. There was an extra assistant stood five yards from it and his view was not blocked by Terry. Shevchenko is now on for Ukraine, replacing the unlucky Devic.
___
2207: Controversy in Donetsk! John Terry clears a goal-bound effort off the line. But television replays indicate the ball was in. It looks as though Ukraine has been denied a legitimate equalizer.
___
2206: Milevskiy has just missed a header inside six yards for Ukraine. The ball comes over from the left and Milevskiy gets goalside of his man but flicks over from point blank range.
___
2202: mattekaren: Now thats a goal. Sweden 1, France 0. Ibra with a gorgeous volley. (via Twitter)
2201: simonhaydon: The best team in tonight’s games will be boarding a plane back to Sweden in a few hours’ time (via Twitter)
___
2201: What a fantastic goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Absolutely no saving this if you are Lloris in the goal for France. The ball comes across from the right and into the path of Ibrahimovic, who is just inside the penalty area. He swings a right foot at it in acrobatic style and hits the ball so sweetly. It bullets into the far corner of the net and gives Sweden the lead. Great goal.
___
2157: GOAL! Sweden 1-0 France (Ibrahimovic)
___
2153: After a disappointing first half, England takes the lead immediately through Rooney. Gerrard curls the ball into the penalty area but it takes a deflection and looks too close to goalkeeper Pyatov to cause any problems. But, inexplicably, the ball bounces through his hands as he crouches to collect and Rooney is on hand to head in from less than a yard out. He won’t score an easier goal in his life and now Ukraine has it all to do.
___
2150: GOAL! England 1, Ukraine 0 (Rooney)
___
2138: (at)RobHarris England living up to their “good tourists” aim at Euro2012 - don’t want to upset co-hosts Ukraine (via Twitter)
___
2132: HALFTIME: England 0, Ukraine 0; Sweden 0, France 0.
___
2129: Just under three minutes to go until halftime and both games are still goalless. Ben Arfa has tried his luck for France with a long-range drive that swerved over the crossbar and Parker shot well wide from outside the penalty area for England.
___
2122: ENGLAND VS. UKRAINE: And Yarmolenko nearly punishes Rooney and England straightaway. The forward receives the ball on the right-hand side of the penalty area and cuts in on his left before shooting low. Hart gets down well to save comfortably and England escapes.
(at)mattekaren: Sweden dominating possession so far but France looks sharper in final third. Sweden defending well in the air though. (via Twitter)
___
2117: ENGLAND VS. UKRAINE: Wayne Rooney has just missed a great chance to give England the lead. Terry sprays a majestic pass out to Young, who takes a touch before sending an inviting cross toward Rooney at the back post. The striker glances his free header wide of the far post. He knows he should have done a lot better than that.
___
2112: It’s 0-0 after 25 minutes in both games. Sweden and France both looking threatening in Kiev but there is only one side that looks likely to break the deadlock in Donetsk _ and that is Ukraine. Gusev just shot narrowly over for the co-host.
___
2105: SWEDEN VS. FRANCE: Ribery delivers a ball in from the left into the path of Benzema, who has a yard of space in the penalty area, but he scoops his shot high and wide. Good opportunity for France and for Benzema, who is yet to score so far at Euro 2012.
___
2059: ENGLAND VS. UKRAINE: It’s a bright start from Ukraine in Donetsk. The co-host is enjoying plenty of early pressure and Denys Garmash’s long-range effort is narrowly over the crossbar.
SWEDEN VS. FRANCE: Sweden hits the post! Toivonen catches Mexes in possession, runs through on goal, takes it round Lloris but his shot from a tight angle hits the foot of the post.
___
2052: SWEDEN VS. FRANCE: Toivonen goes close in the early stages for Sweden, his header from a deep cross from the left by Martin Olsson drifting wide. Larsson then has a header saved by Lloris. Sweden is looking to salvage some pride here after two straight losses.
___
2045: The games have kicked off…
(at)mattekaren Sweden with massive edge in fan support again at Olympic Stadium. (via Twitter)
___
2027: After two matches, France and England have four points, Ukraine has three and already-eliminated Sweden has none. So, the French and English will qualify with a draw tonight. Ukraine must win _ any other result and the co-host leaves its own party early.
___
2020: AP’s Rob Harris surveys the scene in Donetsk ahead of England vs. Ukraine: “Outnumbered by Ukraine’s yellow and blue supporters in Donetsk, the few England fans to make the trip to the outer reaches of eastern Europe are preparing to spoil the co-hosts’ Euro 2012 party. And they’re expecting returning striker Wayne Rooney to be the man to deliver the goals after serving a two-match suspension.”
Rooney is back after being banned for a red card in England’s final qualifying match, against Montenegro. Shevchenko, who has been struggling this week with a swollen knee, is quitting international football after this tournament _ will he get on the pitch tonight for what could be Ukraine’s final match of the tournament?
___
2012: And here are the teams for Sweden-France:
Sweden: Andreas Isaksson, Andreas Granqvist, Olof Mellberg, Jonas Olsson, Martin Olsson, Anders Svensson, Kim Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Emir Bajrami, Ola Toivonen.
France: Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Gael Clichy, Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami, Yann M’Vila, Alou Diarra, Hatem Ben Arfa, Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema.
___
2005: Here are the lineups for England vs. Ukraine _ Wayne Rooney returns from suspension for England and Andriy Shevchenko is only fit enough for a place on the bench for Ukraine:
England: Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, John Terry, Ashley Cole, James Milner, Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov, Oleh Gusev, Yevhen Kiacheridi, Yevhen Selin, Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Andriy Yarmolenko, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Denys Garmash, Marko Devic, Artem Milevskiy.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.