France's Haller reflects after England draw

Two equalisers to earn a 2-2 UEFA European Under-17 Championship  Group A draw against holders England represented a fine day's work for France striker Sébastien Haller on Tuesday.

Patrick Gonfalone's side twice fell behind during their opening match in Serbia, but twice Haller struck to earn them a point in Indjija. With Denmark earning a late victory against France's next opponents Serbia in Novi Sad, the section remains wide open heading into Friday's next batch of fixtures. For Haller, there were mixed emotions, though.

"It's great for me because it's my first European Championship," the AJ Auxerre striker told UEFA.com. "It's also good for the team because it's such a big tournament and it is a goal for me to become a professional and to play for the senior team. It was also good for the team because it helped to secure a draw against England.

"It was a good performance and a good game – maybe France could have won. Maybe it was a better point for England than it was for France." Indeed, while Gonfalone and England counterpart John Peacock both declared it a fair result in their post-match press conference, Haller said his coach felt an opportunity had gone begging.

"The coach is not very happy because he thinks we could have won," said the No11, whose team-mate Abdallah Yaisien struck the bar with a free-kick in the final minute. "But he also said that there are still two games remaining so the competition is still open."

Victory against Serbia would put France into the top two with a game to go and ensure a FIFA U-17 World Cup berth, but Haller warned: "It will be a difficult game for us against Serbia because they are the hosts and they are a very physical team."