Rooney the hero for England

DONETSK (AP) ― Only one goal counted, and it belonged to Wayne Rooney.

The England striker returned from a two-match suspension to head in the lone goal Tuesday and give his team a 1-0 win over Ukraine and a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals. The co-host Ukrainians, however, will leave the tournament knowing that things could have been different.

Needing a win to advance, the Ukrainians thought they had equalized in the 62nd minute when Marko Devic’s looping shot appeared to cross the line before it was hooked clear by England defender John Terry. But the goal was not awarded by the referee or his extra assistant, who was half-standing on the field only a few meters from the post.

“The goal that wasn’t given really changed our plan because if it was given, I think the whole game could have looked another way,” Ukraine captain Andriy Shevchenko said through an interpreter. “We tried to give Ukraine a gift but we weren’t able to do it.”

Although a draw still would have eliminated them, the equalizer would have given the team hope knowing that another goal would put Ukraine through to the quarterfinals.

“I was sad because the ball was in the goal by one meter,” Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin said.

The controversy will likely add to the pressure on UEFA President Michel Platini to reverse his opposition to goal-line technology.

It was Rooney, however, who did manage to put his team on the scoreboard.

England captain Steven Gerrard whipped a cross into the penalty area that glanced off two defenders before Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov let it slip through his hands as he crouched to collect the ball. Rooney was primed at the far post and made it count.

“I was always putting myself in goalscoring opportunities,” Rooney said. “I could’ve done better with a couple more but I got the goal and it’s three points.”

Rooney missed the first two Euro 2012 matches through suspension. He was sent off in the team’s last qualifier in October, and received a three-match suspension that was eventually reduced to two.

The goal was Rooney’s first at a major tournament since scoring four at Euro 2004 as an 18-year-old rising star. He failed to find the net at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, while England failed to even qualify for Euro 2008.

“There was a lot of pressure on Wayne,” Gerrard said. “But he stood up and when we needed him he was there.”

France reaches quarters despite 2-0 loss KIEV (AP) ― France was outplayed, outfought and outscored, and that was against a team with nothing to play for.

With world champion Spain now waiting in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, things better improve quickly for the French to stand a chance of going any further.

France limped into the knockout round of Euro 2012 despite a 2-0 loss to Sweden in their final group game, showing just how much the team still needs to improve to be true contenders in the tournament. The French finished second in Group D after England beat Ukraine 1-0, and will face Spain on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

“You have to be optimistic to think that we can beat Spain, but it’s hard right now to imagine that we can. We have to do better on Saturday,” France coach Laurent Blanc said. “We wanted to finish top of the group but couldn’t manage it, so we have to deal with that.”

France’s 23-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing end as the already-eliminated Swedes exposed frailties in the back four and neutralized the dual attacking threat of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery.

The Swedes dominated proceedings for much of the game and Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock with a piece of artistry in the 54th minute, sending a spectacular volley past helpless goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Sweden had plenty of chances to add a second before Sebastian Larsson finally did in injury time to secure the team’s first points of the tournament.

“We really wanted to win this game for the fans, their support has been fantastic,” Ibrahimovic said. “We wanted to finish this strongly for them.”

Perhaps France can still do the same, but the team has big problems to solve in both defense and attack.

“We were too average in too many areas to hope to win this match,” Blanc said. “The Swedish team played with all their hearts, they were better prepared than us. They had a player in their ranks (Ibrahimovic) who made the difference. If you analyze the game, we were in trouble for most of it.

“We’re very disappointed with how we played. The main thing is that we’ve qualified.”