'Cryptic' England offer few clues

England 3-0 Switzerland

A firm statement of intent had been promised but, despite the emphatic margin, this was England at their most cryptic. They gave a performance that will be deciphered for longer than it is celebrated, even if it moves them appreciably closer to the quarter-finals, with only Monday's meeting with Croatia remaining in Group B. Reservations about this display will be suspended purely to allow acclaim for Wayne Rooney. (The Guardian)

Eriksson had no reason to be satisfied with the performance of his team in the first half, and even after the youngster Rooney had scored twice. Long into the second half the options were open - this was a match which at times was extremely intense and the Swiss performed unexpectedly well. Yet the last 15 minutes turned into a nightmare for Switzerland; morally beaten, they had nothing to play for and Gerrard's goal was the perfect finish for England who had rediscovered how to play joyful football. (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

Croatia 2-2 France

Ivica Mornar missed a golden opportunity to ensure a 92nd-minute victory for Croatia against the world and European champions. In a five-minute spell Otto Baric's team transformed the score from 0-1 to 2-1 and proved that they can play football at the highest level. Croatia were close to a first EURO victory, only for our own mistakes to allow the French to equalise and leave the field satisfied with a point. (Slobodna Dalmacija)

Les Bleus were scared of the Croatians and thus are yet to qualify for the quarter-finals. The team also showed certain weaknesses which need correcting if France want to advance in the tournament. After a brilliant performance against England, the team had an inexplicable five minutes of weakness that the Croats wisely took advantage of to take the lead. Although France's equaliser was obtained rather luckily, the situation is not desperate as only a draw against Switzerland on Monday is needed to qualify. (Le Monde)