England will have to leave at the 'Krakow' dawn if they don't want to miss out on the Quarters.

Group D but not the group of death for England seemed to be the reaction yesterday as the 16 teams that have qualified for next year’s 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine learned their fate for next summer’s event.

With the possibility of facing Spain, Portugal and Netherlands, Fabio Capello would have been pleased to avoid all of them as England were drawn alongside France, Ukraine and Sweden. Although still a tough group, England and Capello will be expecting to progress from the group and set up a quarter final against Spain, Italy, Croatia or possibly the Republic of Ireland.

Group A would have been a dream for Capello as that sees Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Russia all face each other for a place in the quarter finals. England must overcome a logistical problem of facing all their games in Ukraine which entails a 930 mile trip to Donetsk while the trip to Kiev will be a 535 mile from their Krakow base in Poland. Capello said yesterday that England won’t change their base for the competition as the facilities in Krakow were superb and he will be looking to avoid any controversy that followed his decision to base his side hidden away in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup.

Capello this week underlined the fact that this would be his last tournament in charge of England despite suggestions from Trevor Brooking earlier in the week that the FA could offer Capello an extension to his contract.

The draw yesterday will offer hope to England and Capello that finally they can end their long wait for a trophy. Capello would love to end his international management career on a high and what a way it would be to end by lifting a trophy for England.  Should England avoid defeat against France in their opening game on the 11^th June then I would fully expect them to progress from the group and reach the quarter finals.

We will find out this week if Wayne Rooney’s suspension will be reduced from three games which would give England a massive boost ahead of the tournament.

What did you make of the draw? Will England progress? Should Capello take Rooney if his suspension isn’t reduced?

As always let me know.