Bale boosts Wales, England held
THE DAY REPLAYED – After France settled their supporters’ nerves late on in the opening match of UEFA EURO 2016 on Friday, Matchday 2 saw fans on the edge of their seats for much of the three matches on the fixture list. Switzerland did what was expected of them by defeating a resilient Albania side 1-0 to join Les Bleus at the top of Group A, while in Group B, Wales saw off Slovakia 2-1 and England conceded a last-gasp equaliser to draw 1-1 with Russia.
FIFA.com takes a look back at all of Saturday’s thrilling action.
The day’s results
Albania 0-1 Switzerland
Wales 2-1 Slovakia
England 1-1 Russia
The analysis
Despite ending up pointless in their maiden match at this level, Albania’s players will likely be proud of their battling performance against Switzerland in Lens, and may even be left with a sense of missed opportunity.
After just five minutes, Fabian Schar took advantage of wayward goalkeeping by Etrit Berisha and slack marking by Mergim Mavraj to score La Nati’s fastest-ever goal at a European Championship. Nearly 30 minutes later, Albanian captain Lorik Cana received a second yellow card and was ordered off. The match then opened up, with both teams missing excellent chances. The Xhaka brothers, Granit and Taulant, who played on opposing sides, put in notably committed displays.
There was no margin for error in the Group B clash between the two European Championship newcomers, Slovakia and Wales, who must both face Russia and England in the coming days. The Welsh showed that they understood the stakes from the outset, and took the lead through a remarkable Gareth Bale free kick. Slovakia bounced back to equalise on the hour mark via an Ondrej Duda strike, but the Welsh supporters, who had made themselves heard throughout, enjoyed the last laugh as Hal Robson-Kanu made it 2-1 with less than ten minutes to go.
A well-oiled England machine dominated proceedings in Marseille against a Russia side that initally had an on-song Igor Akinfeev to thank for keeping them in the match. However, the athletic ‘keeper could do nothing about Eric Dier’s top-notch free kick 17 minutes from time. Although it appeared that England had the three points in the bag, that was not accounting for Vasily Berezutski, who popped up in injury time to loop a header over a helpless Joe Hart and snatch an unexpected share of the spoils for Russia.
Highlight of the day
It is often said that "Cometh the hour, cometh the man", and Gareth Bale proved that adage correct in Wales’ much-anticipated European Championship debut. First, the attack-minded Real Madrid man broke the deadlock with an inspired, dipping free kick ten minutes into the encounter. Subsequently, living up to pre-match expectations, he struck fear into the hearts of Slovakian fans on numerous occasions, demonstrating his ability to transform seemingly harmless situations into viable chances.
The stat
5 – The number of Tottenham Hotspur players present in Roy Hodgson’s starting line-up versus Russia. Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane all transferred the understanding they have built up at club level to the international stage to good effect.
What they said
“I’m happy that this match is now finally over and done with, from my and from Taulant's point of view. We both gave 100 per cent for our teams. We didn’t hold back at all,” Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Next matchday
Sunday 12 June
Group C
Poland-Northern Ireland
Germany-Ukraine
Group D
Turkey-Croatia