England manager Roy Hodgson has warned his side to expect a “tough” test against Wales in Euro 2016 after the two countries were drawn together.
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Russian Federation will be the final Group B opponents for Wales in Toulouse, and Coleman insisted it would be a mistake to focus too much on their match against England in Lens, with three points vital in the opening match against Slovakia in Bordeaux.
It was a draw Coleman had been hoping to avoid, but not as daunting as Northern Ireland’s – drawn in Group C with world champions Germany, Poland and Ukraine – nor that of Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland side who have to face Belgium, now top of the Federation Internationale de Football Association world rankings, Sweden and Italy in Group E.
The draw was not much kinder on Nothern Ireland who were drawn with Germany, Poland and Ukraine. There is a good chance we will get one of those but it is not something that pleases or displeases me. “Some of the teams in pots above us will be looking at our form over the last two years and saying they don’t want to play us”.
And any one of the other Home Nations, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are lurking in pot four.
“Sweden is a game to look forward to, so let’s go for it. Sweden are not a one man team, they were quite strong in qualifying but Ibrahimovic is a top class player”.
The FA will now start planning in earnest for the tournament, with officials making visits to the three venues for England’s group games, while work is already under way on the training base at Chantilly. I respect Wales and the Ireland teams.
The first appearance for Wales in an global tournament for 58 years will certainly centre around the match against England, which will cause a dilemna for employers across the United Kingdom – the match will kick off at 14:00 UK time. I am very excited, we’re in a group with some hot competition.
Before that England will begin their finals campaign against Russia on June 11, with Hodgson full of praise for his Russian counterpart.
“Croatia have extraordinary players that play in the best teams in Europe and we saw their value in the last European Championship”. I was just sitting around looking at all the managers – Joachim Low, Vicente del Bosque, Roy Hodgson – and you realise you are in serious company here. “They have outstanding players, like (Eden) Hazard, (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Romelu) Lukaku, and are one of the favourites”, said Italy coach Antonio Conte. It couldn’t get tougher – these are games to look forward for the fans but it could not be tougher for us.
Vitaly Mutko of the Russian Football Union added: “We will aim to progress from the group – we will see what happens”.
“The great thing is we have no star players”.
Coleman said: “It’s going to a great game between two good teams”.
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Russian Federation also got the better of Wales in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, winning 2-1 in Moscow and 3-1 in Cardiff, where defender Sergei Ignashevich was among the scorers.
