By Habeeb Akinfegbe
The second set of group matches started as Slovakia got their UEFA EURO 2016 campaign back on track and pushed Russia against the ropes with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday. The Russians, meanwhile, have just one point ahead of their final Group B fixture versus Wales. In Group A, Romania and Switzerland shared the points (1-1) and remain on course for a spot in the Round of 16, while France defeated a Albania and are now assured of advancing to the knockout stage with six points.
France again had their supporters on the edge of their seats right till the end against a disciplined Albania team, having previously dug deep for a late winner against Romania. After a poor first-half display which saw Didier Deschamps’ men fail to hit the target or force Etrit Berisha into a meaningful save, the situation threatened to get even worse for Les Bleus in the second period, as
Albania struck the post. As
the game drew to a close, the French finally began to lay siege to the
opposing goal, and eventually made the breakthrough in the last minute
through Antoine Griezmann, before adding a fine second via Dimitri Payet
deep into stoppage time. Despite the suspense and late drama, France
have now qualified for the Round of 16.
Some losses are harder to take than others. Slovakia’s defeat by Wales had apparently left a bitter taste in the mouths of their players, who felt as if they had let the opening match slip from their grasp. Against Russia, they made their dominance count more effectively, with a little help from Vladimir Weiss and Marek Hamsik. They first combined to great effect after half an hour, the latter laying a lovely ball on a plate for the former to score. Just before the break, the skilful Napoli midfielder showed that he could also finish with aplomb, smashing a majestic curling shot into the back of the net. The Russians came back to life late on, halving the margin to 2-1 through a Denis Glushakov header, but it was a case of too little, too late. Russia must now overcome Wales to ensure that their French adventure continues. After losing to Slovakia, Russia suffered their 13th defeat at a European Championship, one fewer than the undesirable record (14) held by Denmark. In addition, the Russians have conceded at least one goal in their last seven outings in the continental contest.
Romania and Switzerland locked horns at Parc des Princes, eventually sharing the spoils in a back-and-forth encounter. After soaking up some Swiss pressure, the Romanians took the lead via a Bogdan Stancu penalty. La Nati did not allow that to distract them from their task, creating a number of chances, one of which – a powerful half-volley from Admir Mehmedi just before the hour mark – resulted in a deserved equaliser. They continued to control the game for the time remaining, with the Romanians relying on hopeful counter-attacks. The Swiss now look well-placed to move on to the next round as they prepare to take on France, in a match that will decide first place in the group. The Romanians, meanwhile, continue to dream, and could advance with a win over Albania.
The second set of matches continued on Thursday as England picked up their first UEFA EURO 2016 victory, defeating Wales in injury time at the end of a match they had dominated throughout. The Three Lions now have the same number of points in the Group B table as Slovakia, the team they face next. Later in the day, Northern Ireland moved a step closer to clinching an unlikely round-of-16 berth by pulling off a remarkable 2-0 win over Ukraine – their first ever triumph in a European Championship. Consequently, Mykhaylo Fomenko’s men are the first side to be eliminated from the tournament. Elsewhere, Germany and Poland played out the first 0-0 draw of the competition, which, despite the dearth of goals, was not lacking in intrigue.
In search of a second victory at EURO 2016 and a first success over neighbours England for 32 years, Wales looked as if they had the match in their grasp after taking the lead through a Gareth Bale free-kick just before half-time, in what was the 102nd clash between the pair of old rivals. Impressively, the Real Madrid star has scored 15 of the 32 Welsh goals recorded since Chris Coleman took charge in February 2012. Jamie Vardy equalised on the 52nd minute and Daniel Sturridge conjuring up a reassuring winner in the final seconds.
Northern Ireland had never beaten Ukraine
in a competitive match, nor had they ever won a game at a European
Championship prior to Thursday’s encounter. They put both those
statistics to bed in Lyon, knocking Ukraine out of the EURO 2016 in the
process. Ukraine had the majority of the ball in the first half,
but lacked penetration versus a solid Northern Irish defence. The
British side came to life in a second half that was interrupted in the
57th minute by a severe hailstorm, 36-year-old Gareth McAuley opening
the scoring with a header. Deep into stoppage time, Aberdeen winger
Niall McGinn slotted home to secure a historic result for the debutantes.
There were large numbers of Polish and German fans at the Stade de France as well, and they ended up witnessing a defensive battle that finished scoreless. Slightly more on top throughout, Germany lacked imagination up front, with Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller failing to find a way past the opposition’s rearguard. Poland were disciplined and also dangerous at times, even though their star man, Robert Lewandowski, has still not managed a shot on target at the tournament. In the end, a share of the spoils was a fair result, one which cements the teams’ positions of first and second in Group C.
Today Friday 17 the following matches come up:
Group E
Italy-Sweden (3 pm)
Group D
Czech Republic-Croatia (6 pm)
Spain-Turkey (9 pm)
FOLLOW US
Twitter: @bizarre_comms
Facebook: Bizarre Communications
Email: bizarrecommunications@gmail.com
The second set of group matches started as Slovakia got their UEFA EURO 2016 campaign back on track and pushed Russia against the ropes with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday. The Russians, meanwhile, have just one point ahead of their final Group B fixture versus Wales. In Group A, Romania and Switzerland shared the points (1-1) and remain on course for a spot in the Round of 16, while France defeated a Albania and are now assured of advancing to the knockout stage with six points.
France again had their supporters on the edge of their seats right till the end against a disciplined Albania team, having previously dug deep for a late winner against Romania. After a poor first-half display which saw Didier Deschamps’ men fail to hit the target or force Etrit Berisha into a meaningful save, the situation threatened to get even worse for Les Bleus in the second period, as
Some losses are harder to take than others. Slovakia’s defeat by Wales had apparently left a bitter taste in the mouths of their players, who felt as if they had let the opening match slip from their grasp. Against Russia, they made their dominance count more effectively, with a little help from Vladimir Weiss and Marek Hamsik. They first combined to great effect after half an hour, the latter laying a lovely ball on a plate for the former to score. Just before the break, the skilful Napoli midfielder showed that he could also finish with aplomb, smashing a majestic curling shot into the back of the net. The Russians came back to life late on, halving the margin to 2-1 through a Denis Glushakov header, but it was a case of too little, too late. Russia must now overcome Wales to ensure that their French adventure continues. After losing to Slovakia, Russia suffered their 13th defeat at a European Championship, one fewer than the undesirable record (14) held by Denmark. In addition, the Russians have conceded at least one goal in their last seven outings in the continental contest.
Romania and Switzerland locked horns at Parc des Princes, eventually sharing the spoils in a back-and-forth encounter. After soaking up some Swiss pressure, the Romanians took the lead via a Bogdan Stancu penalty. La Nati did not allow that to distract them from their task, creating a number of chances, one of which – a powerful half-volley from Admir Mehmedi just before the hour mark – resulted in a deserved equaliser. They continued to control the game for the time remaining, with the Romanians relying on hopeful counter-attacks. The Swiss now look well-placed to move on to the next round as they prepare to take on France, in a match that will decide first place in the group. The Romanians, meanwhile, continue to dream, and could advance with a win over Albania.
The second set of matches continued on Thursday as England picked up their first UEFA EURO 2016 victory, defeating Wales in injury time at the end of a match they had dominated throughout. The Three Lions now have the same number of points in the Group B table as Slovakia, the team they face next. Later in the day, Northern Ireland moved a step closer to clinching an unlikely round-of-16 berth by pulling off a remarkable 2-0 win over Ukraine – their first ever triumph in a European Championship. Consequently, Mykhaylo Fomenko’s men are the first side to be eliminated from the tournament. Elsewhere, Germany and Poland played out the first 0-0 draw of the competition, which, despite the dearth of goals, was not lacking in intrigue.
In search of a second victory at EURO 2016 and a first success over neighbours England for 32 years, Wales looked as if they had the match in their grasp after taking the lead through a Gareth Bale free-kick just before half-time, in what was the 102nd clash between the pair of old rivals. Impressively, the Real Madrid star has scored 15 of the 32 Welsh goals recorded since Chris Coleman took charge in February 2012. Jamie Vardy equalised on the 52nd minute and Daniel Sturridge conjuring up a reassuring winner in the final seconds.
Northern Ireland had never beaten Ukraine
in a competitive match, nor had they ever won a game at a European
Championship prior to Thursday’s encounter. They put both those
statistics to bed in Lyon, knocking Ukraine out of the EURO 2016 in the
process. Ukraine had the majority of the ball in the first half,
but lacked penetration versus a solid Northern Irish defence. The
British side came to life in a second half that was interrupted in the
57th minute by a severe hailstorm, 36-year-old Gareth McAuley opening
the scoring with a header. Deep into stoppage time, Aberdeen winger
Niall McGinn slotted home to secure a historic result for the debutantes. There were large numbers of Polish and German fans at the Stade de France as well, and they ended up witnessing a defensive battle that finished scoreless. Slightly more on top throughout, Germany lacked imagination up front, with Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller failing to find a way past the opposition’s rearguard. Poland were disciplined and also dangerous at times, even though their star man, Robert Lewandowski, has still not managed a shot on target at the tournament. In the end, a share of the spoils was a fair result, one which cements the teams’ positions of first and second in Group C.
Today Friday 17 the following matches come up:
Group E
Italy-Sweden (3 pm)
Group D
Czech Republic-Croatia (6 pm)
Spain-Turkey (9 pm)
FOLLOW US
Twitter: @bizarre_comms
Facebook: Bizarre Communications
Email: bizarrecommunications@gmail.com
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