England were drawn with the European champions, France and Croatia who had established a reputation as a tough side to beat in previous competitions. Switzerland were considered the underdogs of this group but as always proved stubborn opponents.
Overview | Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Knock Out Stages
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Switzerland
Croatia
Determined defence by the Swiss, who had a player sent off, frustrated the technically superior Croatians.
France
England
Frank Lampard's goal in the 38th minute seemed to be enough for England to record a notable win againt the defending champions but in injury time, Zinedine Zidane struck twice to give France a remarkable victory.
England
Switzerland
England bounced back to beat Switzerland with some ease. The Swiss once again had to play for the last half hour with ten men.
Croatia
France
France held the lead at half-time thanks to an unfortunate own-goal by Tudor but immediately after the break they were rocked by two goals scored in just four minutes by Rapaić and Pršo. In the 64th minute Trezeguet put France back on level terms and the match flowed from one end to the other as both sides looked for the decisive goal but the match ended with honours even.
England
Croatia
After England fell behind to an early goal scored by Kovač their supporters feared the worst but goals from Scholes and Rooney just before half-time raised spirits. Rooney made it 3-1 (68 minutes), Tudor put Croatia back in the game at 3-2 five minutes later but then Lampard made the game safe with England's fourth in the 79th minute.
France
Switzerland
France secured their place at the top of Group B with victory against Switzerland, who played their usual dogged defensive game. Zidane had opened the scoring after 20 minutes but the Swiss equalised six minutes later and held on until Thierry Henry broke through with two late goals.