England and Wales will meet at Euro 2016 after Saturday’s draw in Paris for next year’s 24-team finals paired them together in Group B, while world champions Germany can look forward to meeting neighbours Poland.
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“I heard Chris Coleman say beforehand he didn’t want to play England but deep down both him and Roy (Hodgson) will be delighted”.
Roy Hodgson will chalk up 40 years in coaching on January 1 but has no intention of calling it a day and has his sights set on taking England to the 2018 World Cup.
England being drawn in a group with Wales understandably dominated the headlines, with the clash between the local rivals to take place in Lens on June 16. “Wales are very organised, they have a strong spirit and a good spine”.
“Whatever team we would have got out of that pot it would have been a tough one so why not have a tough one close to home”, Hodgson added after the draw at the Palais des Congress.
In the case of Wales, they also missed world champions Germany, hosts France, as well as Spain. Roy has had two tournaments, he was very early for the first Euros and then he has had the World Cup, he has learned a lot and he has great global experience.
“England are one of the best teams, but we’re looking forward to it. When you get to a tournament, it’s that 90 minutes and you’ve got to get it right”.
“One of the things we will be concerned with will be stopping Gareth Bale and limiting his chances but I would like to think we have one or two players that will occupy Welsh minds in terms of how we stop them”.
Wales boss Chris Coleman commented before the draw that facing England would be a “distraction”.
“We understand the hype but we’re just as excited about playing Russian Federation and Slovakia”, said Hodgson.
He told the: “Well, we’ve got them, it will be a great game, it is two good teams and to win 10 games in the campaign is a fantastic return”.
France will face Romania in the opening match at the Stade de France on Friday June 10 and coach Didier Deschamps wants to make sure his team top their group, allowing them to face a third-placed side from another section in the round of 16.
“For the first time in a long time we’re (England) going into a tournament, without being disrespectful to any players, without any real superstars. Hard games to look forward to for the fans”.
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As ever with England, it is probably better to strike a note of caution, especially when remembering the jubilation before the 2010 World Cup and the infamous front-page headline “E-A-S-Y” to let us know the opposition would be nothing more challenging than Algeria, Slovenia and – this being the Sun – the “Yanks”. “We’ve got some good young, exciting players”.
