Wales thump Russia to top group and move into last sixteen, England draw

Wales outplayed Russia 3-0, scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes, as they moved into the round of 16 at Euro 2016 by winning Group B on Monday.

Aaron Ramsey dinked the ball over Igor Akinfeev to finish off a counter-attack in the 11th minute and Neil Taylor added a second, also from a counter-attack nine minutes later as Wales took early control.

Russia had no answer to the fast, incisive Welsh breaks and survived several more chances before Gareth Bale scored his third goal of the tournament to become Euro 2016’s top marksman, flicking the third past Akinfeev in the 67th minute.

Wales topped the group with six points, two ahead of England, who finished second after a 0-0 draw with Slovakia.

England drew 0-0 with Slovakia to finish second in Group B and qualify for the knockout phase behind Wales.

Wales top the group with six points ahead of England on five, one ahead of Slovakia who should also reach the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

England, who made six changes from the side that started their 2-1 win over Wales, dominated the first half and Jamie Vardy missed a good chance to put them ahead.

England continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession after halftime but there were few clear opportunities.
Group B final standings
1 Wales 6
2 England 5
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3 Slovakia 4
4 Russia 1

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