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The important victory in Group D of the European Championship was achieved by the French national team, who confidently defeated the host country Ukraine, which stumbled for the first time, with a score of 2-0.
The match was significantly affected by the forces of nature: although the football players took the field at the planned time, after playing just a few minutes, the referee signaled for them to return to the locker room, as a storm had hit Donetsk. Due to the rain and lightning, the teams were forced to rest for almost an hour, but eventually the weather calmed down, and the stadium staff dried the pitch and the match was resumed.
France took the initiative in the first half and had a great opportunity to break the deadlock, but after a pass from Franck Ribery from the wing, Jeremy Menez, who did not play in the first match against England, missed from close range straight at the goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
Until halftime, the Ukrainians, who had focused mostly on defense, decided to play more actively, but it cost them dearly: in the 53rd minute, Menez with a great shot from under the defender's legs sent the ball into the net and put the French team ahead.
As if that wasn't enough, a few moments later the Ukrainians were dealt another blow by Yohan Cabaye, who confused the defender after a great pass from Karim Benzema and defeated Pyatov for a second time.
After this goal, the French dominance was unquestionable. Although the Ukrainians were spurred on by the appearance of striker Marko Devic after a substitution, the best chance to score was had by the same Cabaye, whose shot hit the crossbar.
Ukraine 0 - 2 France 53' [0 - 1] J.Menez 56' [0 - 2] Y.Cabaye
Group D Tournament Table: (position, country, played, wins, draws, losses, goal difference, points) 1. France 2 1 1 0 3-1 4 2. England 2 1 0 1 4-3 3 3. Ukraine 2 0 1 1 2-3 1 4. Sweden 2 0 0 2 3-5 0
