Euro 2012: Grading Group D After Day 4

England, France, Ukraine and Sweden finally began their Euro 2012 campaigns Monday after months of preparation. 

It was a distinctly mixed day, with one game seeing a tense draw and the other seeing a triumphant win. 

So, what grades do the four teams deserve? 

Find out after the jump. 

Ukraine: A

Sometimes, even the most hardened cynic has to admit that football can create moments of real magic. 

Andriy Shevchenko used to be one of the greatest strikers—not any more. 

But Monday, in Kiev, he rolled back the years and scored two goals that gave Ukraine an improbable win over Sweden. 

Class is permanent, and Shevchenko's two headers were a wonderful testament for his ability to find the net over the years.

With England and France drawing, Ukraine now have a real chance to build on this platform and challenge for qualification to the knockout stages.

Even if they don't make it, this game will still go down as a wonderful moment in the history of the European Championships.

England: B

England put in the kind of mature, disciplined performance that they rarely muster when at international tournaments. 

It wasn't always pretty, but Roy Hodgson appears to have drilled his side extremely well in a very short period of time.

Every time France got possession, England massed bodies in banks of four behind the ball, and there was no way through. 

They could even have won the game after a brilliant Steven Gerrard free kick was nodded in by Joleon Lescott. 

In some respects, the perception of whether this was a good performance or not is hard to tell at this point. If England don't make it through to the knockout stages, it will look like a limp, needless surrender. 

But, as it stands, England have navigated the game which, on paper, was the hardest in the group stage.

It should give them heart going into the next two games, even if few fireworks were on display.

France: C+

Samir Nasri put his finger to his mouth after his goal against England, reportedly to "silence" certain members of the French press who'd been critical of his recent performances.

But, overall, it's hard to be too gushing about France after a game like today.

Yes, they showed they can knock the ball around nicely, and players like Nasri, Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery have a great deal of ability, yet the team clearly lacks a cutting edge. 

This has been evident for some time, as out of the teams that made it into the competition, only Greece scored fewer goals than France during the qualifying rounds for Euro 2012. 

In defence, France also showed that they can be suspect, with Joleon Lescott beating Alou Diarra with worrying ease to put England ahead.

A C+ may seem harsh, but this was a definite missed opportunity for France to mark themselves out as a potential outside bet for the competition.

On today's viewing, they won't be troubling the final. Must do better.

Sweden: D

A disaster for Sweden, who must have fancied their chances of getting a result in Kiev. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic showed his class with a well-taken goal, but was then at fault for Ukraine's second goal when he failed to track Shevchenko's near-post run.

Sweden threw away a one-goal lead, and, statistically, it's often very difficult for teams to recover in the Euros after losing their opening game. 

They have no time to lick their wounds, as they will be straight back into the fray against England on Friday. 

Despite their defeat today, Sweden should still feel that they can beat this England.

Who knows, though, what the defeat today has done to the confidence of this Swedish squad?