England Euro 2012: A Brief Look at Group D Opponents

England will be without suspended forward Wayne Rooney in group-play matches, but managed to avoid the Group of Death at Euro 2012.

The Three Lions will face France on June 11, Sweden on June 15, and co-host nation Ukraine on June 19. It's certainly not an easy group, but England could have fared much worse.

Should England avoid a loss to France, the chances of advancing to the quarter-finals would be high as Sweden and Ukraine are not quite as formidable of challengers.

''Most difficult will be the first game against France, manager Fabio Capello told the BBC. The first game is always difficult to play because of the pressure. A result will be very important.''

There are several French players in the Premier League. Samir Nasri of Manchester City, Bacary Sagna of Arsenal, and Patrice Evra of Manchester United should figure prominently for Les Bleus, as they look to erase a regrettable effort at the 2010 World Cup.

Ukraine will have a squad that are well acquainted with each other as nearly all of the players on the roster compete in the Ukrainian league, and a strong contingent are members of Dynamo Kiev. Ukraine will still have former AC Milan and Chelsea star Andrey Shevchenko in the starting 11.

''On paper we should win all those games but the French are always tough, Ukraine at home will have loads of fans behind them - the atmosphere will be crazy, said Capello.

Sweden isn't a pushover, either. Though Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had his share of uneven performances over the past two years, Sweden has veteran leadership and some under-rated players such as forward Ola Toivonen and Sunderland right wing Sebastian Larsson.

England and Sweden met on Nov. 15 at Wembley Stadium, and the Three Lions came away with a 1-0 victory off an own-goal by Celtic defender Daniel Majstorovic. However, both sides rested some of their top talent for the match.

Capello has a good warm-up game coming up. England will host World Cup 2010 runners-up Holland in a friendly on Feb. 29 at Wembley.