Having seen all but two teams begin their Euro 2012 campaigns before them, today's early fixture allowed France and England to dust off the cobwebs and get onto the pitch.
What followed was a match that neither side could justifiably say that they deserved to take maximum points from.
Fittingly, the encounter in Donetsk ended one goal apiece.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes between the European rivals.
France Statistics:
Shots 21
On target 7
Possession 64%
Corners 11
Fouls 9
England Statistics:
Shots 7
On target 1
Possession 36%
Corners 4
Fouls 7
Was the result fair?
France may have won the battle in terms of possession, but England caused just as many problems as the French did. Both sides look to have settled for a point in the closing stages.
France's performance
Laurent Blanc's side were neat and tidy around the penalty area with some neat interchanges between Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery. They may be a little disappointed that they didn't work Joe Hart more when you consider the amount of possession that they had.
England's performance
England looked a solid unit throughout the 90 minutes - something that cannot always have been said about previous England teams! A little sloppy in possession at times but by and large there was plenty for Roy Hodgson to be happy with.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Steven Gerrard: It may not have been the most eye-catching performance from the captain, but his solid performance helped pull England through. The fact that he lasted 90 minutes playing at that pace has to be admired. Also set up Joleon Lescott's opening goal.
Referee performance
At the danger of sounding biased, Nicola Rizzoli seemed to have a blind spot when it came to giving England decisions after the break. The Italian failed to spot blatant fouls on Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Scott Parker.
Biggest gaffe of the game
Take a bow James Milner! It took something really special for him to miss in the way that he did during the first half. After rounding Hugo Lloris, the Manchester City midfielder somehow sent the ball into the side netting with the scores level at 0-0.
What next?
France: The French came up against their toughest opponents in the group and came away with a draw. They should create more chances in their remaining two matches and with Benzema in attack, they will progress.
England: It will be interesting to see how England react in their remaining matches. In this match they were underdogs, whereas against Sweden and Ukraine, they will be expected to take the game to their opposition. If they handle that pressure, they should reach the quarter-finals.
