SOCCER:ENGLAND DEPARTED the Donbass Arena last night buoyed by their hard-fought draw with the much-fancied French and with the manager, Roy Hodgson, convinced that even better is still to come from his players.

The coach took heart from his first competitive match in charge against a team now unbeaten in 22 matches and believes a platform has been laid for further progress in the tournament. Indeed, it was a measure of both sides’ expectations that the France full back Patrice Evra admitted his side had ended “frustrated” by defensive tactics he suggested were identical to those that earned Chelsea a place in their first European Cup final in Munich last month.

“We are frustrated that it ended in a draw,” said Evra. “I think we played much better than them. At times it was like there were 15 bodies on the line at times. It was really difficult for us to find the space because they played in the way that Chelsea played against Barcelona. People laugh . .. maybe they want England to play more football but, if they win the tournament like that, they will be happy.”

Those sentiments were shared by the France coach, Laurent Blanc, who insisted France had been “the team playing the most football”.

France’s goalscorer Samir Nasri departed with an ice pack bandaged to his right knee, a sneer directed at the French media and the man-of-the-match award. It was his smartly taken equaliser, fizzed beyond his club-mate Joe Hart nine minutes after the French had slipped behind, that secured this point with Nasri duly sprinting along the touchline with his finger to his lips in celebration.

As he departed the post-match presentation ceremony, he suggested it was actually delivered to the press. “That was at you,” he muttered to his audience as he descended the stage, his mood apparently darkened by what he perceives as unfair criticism back home at recent performances and even his growing influence in the France team.

The ice pack was a legacy of a late challenge with Danny Welbeck. “It’s nothing serious,” he said. “A win would have made things better still, but I was happy with the goal. Joe Hart knows me from City, and knows I usually open my body up, so this time I closed it [and aimed at the near-post]. “I’m confident in our ability to go through after this point. Our goal is to reach the quarter-finals, and we didn’t lose this game. We can be happy.”

Blanc was supportive of his midfielder’s reaction after scoring his goal. “That’s between him and his detractors, no one else,” the France coach said. “We were punished for taking time to get into the game, but falling behind actually helped wake us up,” said the former Bordeaux manager, who was taking charge of his first game at a major finals. “We deserved our equaliser and continued to create chances after that. “France attacked a lot more than England, we played our game, and while we’re not entirely thrilled with a draw, we’re not disappointed either. That opening 20 minutes was perhaps down to inexperience – we were too timid – and we could easily have gone on and lost the match. So we have to be pleased with the way we reacted – that is something to work on.”

Yet England drew encouragement from their resilience and the flurries of anxiety they induced in their opponents in what had been perceived to be the most daunting fixture in Group D. “I hope this gives us a good platform,” said Hodgson. “We played well and I am obviously pleased for the players most of all. We were playing against a top team who ask questions of you when they get the ball. They are very patient with a lot of talented players.

“When they get the ball around your final third they don’t panic so you have to be very disciplined in your defending.

“So to come away with a 1-1 and to have asked the questions we did, I have got to be quite happy. Sure, we need to improve our final ball. The decision-making in the final third was sometimes a bit anxious, but we’ll get better.

“The longer we play together, the better we’ll become. I hope we’ve established ourselves as hard to beat – you don’t become a really good team in three matches and 10 training sessions – but we’ll get match fitter with every day. I’m pleased the game’s out of the way and pleased the players have shown they can cope well at this level.”

Joleon Lescott’s goal had earned England a lead, albeit one held for only nine minutes. “It was a really good, collective performance,” said the centre half.

“You know what you will get with an English team – plenty of pride and passion – but we also looked good going forward and we can build on this. We had a game plan and now we can be confident going into every game.

No matter who we played, we couldn’t afford to lose this game. Now we’re in a good position to go into Sweden.”