Traditional start to the European Football Championship. The inability of the English to win the first match of the tournament no longer surprises even themselves. Nevertheless, the British press praised their own game, and the decisive mistake was seen as the substitution of Wayne Rooney with Jack Wilshere. "England once again failed to start the European Championship with a victory, as the Russians equalized after Vasily Berezutsky's goal, which they barely deserved. Roy Hodgson's team dominated and rightfully led after Eric Dier's strike," praised BBC the English game. According to the English press, their team's dominance on the field continued until the 78th minute when W. Rooney was replaced. Hodgson's decision to "reposition" him from a forward to a midfielder was highly appreciated, however, benching the leader of the "Manchester United" team could have cost them the win. "Hodgson replaced the well-playing W. Rooney. It was a move he lost," BBC doubted. "W. Rooney made more passes than any other player before halftime, distributed the balls reliably to his teammates, and accurately delivered five out of six long balls," praised skysports.com the team captain's game. "The Mirror" gave ratings to the players - W. Rooney's game was rated 8 points, all other players of the England team received 6 or 7. Meanwhile, Russian footballers were rated lower, with the worst marks - five - going to forward Aleksandr Kokorin and midfielder Aleksandr Golovin. The emotions of the match were clouded by clashes between Russian and English hooligans. The Brits were not inclined to defend their own, and blamed the poorly-prepared French for the riots. "The scenes in Marseille after the violence between English and Russian fans are shocking. There are no excuses for these foolish idiots. Unfortunately, they brought shame upon all of us," wrote "The Mirror." - Mistakes were made. Why were the matches held in Marseille, a city like a ticking bomb? Why didn't the authorities prepare better? A very bad day for English and Russian football, but also lessons were shown to UEFA, organizers, and representatives of the French government."
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