Wales bounced back from their defeat against England last week to top Group B after sending Russia back home with a comfortable 3-0 victory at the Stadium Municipal today.
Leonid Slutsky made four changes from his side’s defeat to Slovakia with the likes of Dmitri Kombarov, Denis Glushakov, Pavel Mamaev and Roman Shirokov getting the nod ahead of their teammates because a win would have ensured qualification for the Russian contingent. Chris Coleman was in an upbeat mood and only chose to replace Hal Robson-Kanu with Burnley striker Sam Vokes as a draw was enough to send them into the knockout round.
The last group stage match was equally balanced in terms of possession (49.9%-50.1%) and number of passes (435-473) but the Welsh were more clinical at taking their chances due to their high shots count as they managed 12 shots on target out of 16 shots in total. They were also threatening while regaining possession after converting defensive interceptions and blocks into dribbles down the left and right flanks throughout the match.
Wales applied some pressure onto the Russians when Joe Allen laid a beautiful through ball in Aaron Ramsey’s direction and the midfielder confidently lobbed the ball over Igor Akinfeev to open the scoring on the 11th minute. Nine minutes later, an error from Roman Shirokov allowed Neil Taylor to be clear on goal and the Swansea City left-back doubled his country’s lead from the rebound after the goalkeeper saved his first shot. On the 67th minute, a through ball from Aaron Ramsey found Gareth Bale, who scored the third goal of the night.
Wales topped Group B after England drew against Slovakia, but here are the top three players that made their country proud in the last European Championship encounter:
Gareth Bale
The Welsh wizard was in tremendous form for Real Madrid last season and he has replicated it with his national team in the European Championship. The forward scored in the first two games against Slovakia and England — both goals from free-kicks — and has now scored his third goal of the tournament after side-footing the ball past Igor Akinfeev. He was the driving force of the team and could have added more to his tally after having six shots on target.
Aaron Ramsey
The Arsenal central midfielder have been playing in a more forward position for his country and it is seem to be paying off for the Welsh national team. He produced a tireless effort and created a number of chances for his teammates, which included an assist for Gareth Bale to score the third goal of the night. The assist makes Aaron Ramsey the player with the highest number of assists in the European Championship, with two to his name. He also scored the opening goal of the match after lobbing the ball over CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
Joe Allen
The ‘Welsh Andrea Pirlo’ played one of his best matches for his country against Russia earlier today morning. He was the heartbeat of the team and kick-started everything for Wales when he brilliantly had the vision to find Aaron Ramsey to score the first goal of the match. He also helped out defensively by producing a number of clearances and interceptions.
FULL HIGHLIGHTS:
Other posts by Prashant Kharbanda
