A 3-0 rout of hapless Russian Federation on Monday made amends for a 2-1 defeat to England and fired the Dragons to the top of Group B after England were held to a goalless draw with Slovakia.
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England’s goalless draw with Slovakia opened the door for Wales to take top spot and they barged right through it with goals from Aaron Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Gareth Bale.
The Czech Republic and Croatia are also relatively likely opponents for England depending on how the rest of Group D plays out, while there’s an unlikely but worrying scenario where England face the Germans in the last 16, which could happen if either of them fluffs their lines in the final match and ends up third while the other tops their group.
Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale, who has been outstanding at the 2016 European Championship so far, broke a record on Monday night.
“To top the group, it is a dream for all of us, we said we didn’t want to just make up the numbers and we can’t do more than we have”.
The play of the Arsenal midfielder and the Real Madrid striker – with three goals in three matches – has allowed the Welsh side to exceed expectations and exact a measure of revenge for the Ryan Giggs-led squad that lost a playoff to Russian Federation in Euro 2004, EFE news agency reported.
GOALSCORER Neil Taylor and midfield maestro Joe Allen hailed Wales’ 3-0 Euro 2016 win over Russian Federation as a “special moment” for Welsh football. I’ve been waiting for a while for this moment, to show what we are capable of on a big stage.
A point should also secure their place in the knockout stages, and they could even qualify as a best third-placed team if they lost and results were favourable elsewhere.
British police chiefs hope the “impeccable” behaviour of England and Wales fans during last week’s match will continue as the two teams gear up for crucial final group games.
Gareth Bale of Wales celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal against Russian Federation. “And after playing like that, why should we?”
“Football can change really quickly, you really are king for a day”.
“I’ve been a player myself”.
The three goals made Bale all time top scorer of Wales in major tournaments ahead of Ivor Allchurch, who collected two in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.
Ramsey escaped the offside trap in the 11th minute, took a touch to take the ball forward a step and beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev with a delicate chip to lead Wales the way with his 11th goal for his country.
Free kick threat Russian Federation have never lost to Wales in their four meetings, but the margins have been tight, like so many matches at this low-scoring tournament. But its attacking forays left space for Wales to strike on the counterattack.
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Wales pressured Russian Federation from the start, as Igor Akinfeev saved Gareth Bale’s shot from 18 yards and Sam Vokes’ follow-up was offside. Not to say we can’t enjoy tonight.
