Laurent Koscielny: England match is like a final

France defender Laurent Koscielny has admitted that facing England at Euro 2012 is the "worst possible draw" for Les Bleus.

England face France on June 11 in the Group D opener and Koscielny claims that Laurent Blanc's team cannot afford a defeat in their first match.

The Arsenal defender said: "To play against England is the worst possible draw but it will be a enormous chance for us to progress if we win.

"We can't afford to lose. Normally you might expect France and England to qualify for the second phase but football never works like that.

"We know this is like a final because defeat would be a disaster. Our first objective is to get out of the group and to lose the first game would make it very difficult."

Ukraine and Sweden are the other two teams competing for qualification within Group D.