At 22:00 on the LRT Culture channel, the decisive battle of Group B took place. The national teams of Russia and Wales clashed in the final group match at the "Municipal" stadium.
Before the match, the Russian footballers promised to show their fighting spirit, but they are now travelling home as Wales crushed the seemingly hopeless Russian team with a 3-0 scoreline. Wales not only secured their place in the quarterfinals, but also remained in first place in Group B.
Starting lineups:
Russia: Akinfeev; Smolnikov, Ignashevich, Berezutski, Kombarov; Glushakov, Mamaev, Smolov, Shirokov; Kokorin, Dzyuba.
Wales: Hennessey; Chester, Williams, Davies; Gunter, Allen, Ledley, Taylor, Ramsey; Bale; Vokes.
From the first minutes, both teams were very active. In the 1st minute, Gareth Bale sprinted down the right wing and took a dangerous shot towards Igor Akinfeev's goal, after the Russians had previously made a dangerous pass into the penalty area.
Later, Wales took over possession of the ball. It didn't take long for Wales to score their first goal - in the 11th minute, after a great pass from Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and gave Wales the advantage.
Wales continued to demonstrate a solid performance. In the 20th minute, after a wonderful pass from Gareth Bale, unmarked defender Neil Taylor struck the ball into the net and Wales gained a two-goal advantage.
In the 26th minute, Russia's forward Artem Dzyuba had a great chance to reduce the deficit, but he failed to outmaneuver the goalkeeper after a mistake by the opponents' defenders.
Just a few minutes later, Wales could increase their lead. Gareth Bale made a precise pass to forward Sam Vokes in front of the penalty area, but he couldn't beat the reliable Akinfeev in that episode.
For the rest of the first half, Russia had more possession, but they couldn't create any clear chances. Wales had more opportunities, but the score remained unchanged as Chris Coleman's team headed into the break with a two-goal lead.
In the second half, the Russian players didn't start aggressively - only one change was made in the central defender position. The Welsh attacks from the start of the second half were active, with Gareth Bale causing the most trouble for the Russians.
Neither team could score a quick goal in the second half, but Wales maintained a clear advantage in terms of chances created from the beginning of the half, led by Gareth Bale.
However, in the 67th minute, the Welsh team scored their third goal. After a great pass from Aaron Ramsey, once again one-on-one against the goalkeeper, Gareth Bale defeated the Russian goalkeeper and became the most scoring player in the tournament with 3 goals.
In the 85th minute, the Russian forward A. Dzyuba had a good chance to score a consolation goal, but he failed to hit the target after a pass from his teammate.
The remaining time passed quickly and Wales celebrated a 3-0 victory. Following the draw between Slovakia and England, Wales remained in first place in the group and should face a more favorable opponent in the quarterfinals. This is Wales' debut in the European Championship.
Results:
Russia 0 - 3 Wales
11' [0 - 1] A. Ramsey
20' [0 - 2] N. Taylor
67' [0 - 3] G. Bale
The best player of the match was Aaron Ramsey:
.@aaronramsey wins the @carlsberg Man of the Match award for #RUSWAL pic.com/QFULRw3JA5
— UEFA EURO 2016 (@UEFAEURO) June 20, 2016
Main match statistics:
Russia 0-3 Wales FT: https://t.co/wBdxJm56jk #RUSWAL #EURO2016 pic.com/GnDjI7SI53
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 20, 2016
Group B standings:
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wales | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:3 | 6 |
| 2 | England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3:2 | 5 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3:3 | 4 |
| 4 | Russia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2:6 | 1 |
