";s:4:"text";s:5496:" For England, Scholes combined well with the outstanding Rooney before the Manchester United midfielder picked out Michael Owen going in on goal.
Frank Lampard had given England a first-half lead when he rose to head home David Beckham's free-kick. France coach Jacques Santini was immediately forced to make changes and brought on Sylvain Wiltord and Louis Saha for Olivier Dacourt and David Trezeguet. Road to the final.
King, who was starting his first match for England, looked impressive and the anonymity of Henry in the first half owed much to the Spurs centre-half's concentration at the back.
As the half developed, France became more threatening and Greece were lucky to survive a spell that saw a dangerous run from Bixente Lizarazu and near misses from William Gallas and Henry. Euro 2004 results have all the match information - Euro 2004 scores, results and tables. Watch the action from a dramatic group stage encounter in Lisbon as two goals in added time by Zinédine Zidane earned France an unlikely win. He becomes the seventh player at Euro 2004 with over 100 caps. If England had anything to prove it was that they could produce a strong second-half display.
Euro 2004 KEY MOMENTS
It was an unstoppable header which set up one of the most amazing results in European Championship history. The onus was very much on France to pick up the pace after the break and one lightning quick counter-attack saw Vieira surge forward before finding Henry, whose curled shot was gathered by James.
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Referee Markus Merk pointed to the spot and Zidane showed no nerves as he converted the penalty with aplomb to hand France victory and control of Group B. France were struggling to establish any rhythm and it was Greece who went close again on 15 minutes when Costas Katsouranis' stabbed shot from a Giorgos Karagounis free-kick hit the left post and was smothered right on the line by Barthez. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
France add Ukraine, Finland to Euro 2020 preparations. Substitute Emile Heskey needlessly gave away a foul on the edge of the area and the imperious Zidane strode forward to send a curling free-kick past James.
Country: England ## England International ... as well as leading France to the title at Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games in Tokyo.... more » 20.12.2019 17:10.
GLORY FOR GREECE
Greece began the Lisbon encounter full of endeavour and showed early signs of their intention with a dangerous cross from Charisteas on five minutes.
Greece were lively and keen to work hard, and outplayed France in an uneventful first half. Greece were lively and keen to work hard, and outplayed France in an uneventful first half.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Zidane equalised with a free-kick and then converted from the spot after David James fouled Thierry Henry. France came out with more verve in the second period and threatened with a host of chances, notably a late Thierry Henry header, but Greece held firm.
The England defender made an important clearance to cut out Vieira's flick-on as France sought to test James. Shortly after, Demis Nikolaidis fired a fierce shot at keeper Fabien Barthez as Greece began to build some authority from midfield.
England's midfield quartet of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham settled quickly, allowing them to absorb some early France pressure.
The group consisted of defending champions France, England, Croatia and Switzerland. Henry launched France' s only other attack of note just before the interval but after a surging run his tame shot was pouched by keeper Antonis Nikopolidis.
Saha and Henry both attempted weak shots as the game entered the final quarter, before Henry missed France's best chance with a header narrowly wide with three minutes left. And England were made to pay a heavy price for that miss in the dying minutes of the game. 25 Jun 04 |
Gallas also had to be alert to deny Gerrard, who had surged into the area following an England counter-attack.
TOURNAMENT REVIEW
It was the first time the French defence had been breached in 11 games, but that record was of no interest to England's fans, who could not contain their glee.
It began on 13 June and was completed on 21 June.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson opted to stick with the 4-4-2 formation which had worked so well in the 6-1 Euro 2004 warm-up win over Iceland. EURO 2004