retired_firebear369

Thanks for the comments, and keep them coming

Enar Jääger went to Torpedo Moscow before moving to Israel with Hapoel Petach-Tikva in 2006. Tarmo Kink moved from Spartak Moscow to Terek Grozny, who have been promoted to the Russian Premier League since he moved in 2008.

Russia v. Wales
Atletion, Aarhus

The final match of the day pitted Russia against a Welsh side that was by far the youngest in Denmark. Against supposedly weaker opposition, Russia were expected to come out with a more attacking attitude than they were typically known for.

Teams:

Russia (4-4-2): Sergey Kabanov, Victor Pimenov, Maxim Korolev, Eugeny Smirnov, Rusland Rakhimov, Alexey Safronov, Yury Zhirkov, Sergey Tcherkasov, Vyacheslav Yudin, Alexandr Chernov (c), Nikolay Tyunin
Substitutes: Igor Akinfeev, Denis Ivanov, Yury Iljin, Valery Vorobjov, Alexandr Orekhov, Ruslan Vorobjov, Andrey Gusev

Wales (5-3-2): Jason Brown, Mike Pugh, Scott Hillman (c), Ryan Shawcross, Richard Duffy, Mike Williams, Gavin Phillips, Reece Jones, David Vaughan, Michael Byrne, Chris Jones
Substitutes: Paul Hill, Andrew Duffy, Paul Hart, Jon James, Ramon Calliste, Paul Hughes, Richard Lloyd

Russia was off to a flyer when Eugeny Smirnov opened the scoring on four minutes. The defender’s towering header was never going to be diverted from its path to the top corner.

Thirty minutes later, Russia had a glorious opportunity to double their lead. Yury Zhirkov’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by David Vaughan, however.

Russia continued to press for another goal in the second half. In the 66th minute, substitute Valery Vorobjov had his curling shot from thirty yards out strike the post with Jason Brown beaten.

Four minutes later, Vorobjov nearly scored with a free kick from the edge of the area. Only the fingertips of Brown kept the ball out of the net.

With eight minutes remaining Vorobjov would put the game out of reach with a fantastic goal. The Sokol Saratov midfielder to a pass from Andrey Gusev, and hit a curling shot from 25 yards out with the outside of his left foot that was going nowhere but the back of the net. The goal was also his first international goal.

Brown was once again beaten from long distance four minutes later, as Gusev’s curling shot from the left managed to beat the beleaguered goalkeeper from 35 yards out.

Russia 3 (Smirnov 4; Vorbjov 82; Gusev 86)
Wales 0
Attendance: 20173

Yellow Cards:
Russia: None
Wales: Michael Byrne

Group D Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Russia | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Holland | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Switzerland | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Wales | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_firebear369

Day 3: 13th June 2016

Czech Republic v. Belgium
Aalborg Stadion, Aalborg

After three matches on the second day of the tournament, only the two Group A fixtures would be played today. This match between the two sides likely to be battling for second spot looks certain to be an exciting encounter.

Czech Republic (5-3-2): Petr Cech, Petr Hanus, Tomas Hübschmann (c), Jiri Vecera, Michal Cerny, Tomas Cerny, Radek Lukes, Adam Krumnikl, Petr Mochow, Martin Krása, Josef Goldie
Substitutes: Jan Lastuvka, Stanislav Horak, Tomas Toman, Jan Karsnak, Vaclav Sverkos, Michal Prchlik, Lukas Prochazka

Belgium (5-3-2): Peter Mollez, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, Jelle Van Damme, Guillaume Raphaël, Charles Xavier, Costanzo Sebastien, Tim Van Speybroeck, Bram Philips, Wouter Vandermieren, Steven Defour (c)¸ Jonathan Blondel
Substitutes: Thierry Lepage, Michiel De Taeye, Yuksel Dinçer, Dave Kerwyn, Michaël Kone, Freek Vermeulen, Rachid Elaâli

The Czechs started more brightly of the two sides in this match. Adam Krumnikl had the first significant chance of the match as his curling shot from outside of the area was turned around the post for a corner on fourteen minutes.

Five minutes later, the Czech Republic went in front. Krumnikl sent a brilliant ball through to Martin Krása, who slotted home from ten yards.

With four minutes remaining in the first half, Josef Goldie nearly created a goal on his own. After dribbling through Belgium’s defence on the left side, he fired a shot straight at Peter Mollez, who was clearly furious at the quality of defending in front of him.

The quality of the match quickly took a turn for the worse as both sides were content with shooting from distance and playing long balls. The Czechs would eventually grab a second in the 88th minute courtesy of some bad goalkeeping. Radek Lukes sent in a cross that should have been easily dealt with by Mollez, but the ‘keeper flapped at the ball. A stunned Stanislav Horak was on the other end to poke the ball in for one of the easiest finishes he has ever had.

Czech Republic 2 (Krása 19; Horak 88)
Belgium 0
Attendance: 15890

Yellow Cards:
Czech Republic: Radek Lukes
Belgium: Jelle Van Damme, Charles Xavier, Bram Philips, Steven Defour

retired_firebear369

Italy v. Bulgaria
Næstved Stadion, Næstved

With the Czechs taking all three points from Belgium, Bulgaria knew they would have to get a result from this match to give themselves a decent shot at advancing from the group. Italy would be looking to keep themselves level with the Czechs.

Italy (4-4-2): Roberto Grossi, Marco Motta (c), Nicola Giordano, Andrea Greco, Salvatore Mele, Fabio Benedetti, Alberto Gentile, Francesco Antonelli, Emanuele Salvadori, Vito Galli, Marco Magno
Substitutes: Paolo Monti, Marco Conti, Alessio Mancino, Pietro Zammuto, Arturo Lupoli, Andrea Pierantoni, Marco Bergamini

Bulgaria (4-4-2): Dimitar Pavlov, Borislav Marinov, Dimitar Ignatov, Yordan Iliev, Slav Jekov, Kamen Shapkarov, Nikola Hristozov, Georgi Kyorlenski, Chavdar Yankov, Dimitar Berbatov (c), Valeri Bojinov
Substitutes: Atanas Trifonov, Dimitar Dimitrov, Kamen Krastev, Ivan Korbankolev, Ivan Dimitrov, Naiden Nedialkov, Yulian Vasilev

Italy controlled play from the beginning to the surprise of almost no one. Francesco Antonelli fired in a vicious shot on fifteen minutes, only for it to be turned over by Dimitar Pavlov.

Six minutes later, the brilliance of Pavlov once again kept Italy from scoring. Marco Magno was put through on goal, but his driving shot was stopped by the charging Wigan goalkeeper.

Just thirty seconds, Pavlov looked like he had gone from hero to zero in an instant. He fumbled Vito Galli’s weak header into the goal, but the striker was ruled offside to Pavlov’s relief.

The situation was looking worse for Bulgaria on the hour mark when Chavdar Yankov became the first player sent off in the tournament.

Italy had another opportunity four minutes later. Italy substitute Alessio Mancino fired in a short range volley from a corner only for it to be caught by Pavlov.

In the 67th minute, Pavlov made another spectacular stop. He dived to his left to stop an Andrea Greco point-blank header.

Four minutes after that, Marco Conti’s diving header was pushed around for a corner by a sprawling Pavlov.

In the 76th minute, Bulgaria was reduced to nine men when Valeri Bojinov was carried off on a stretcher.

A frustrating evening for Italy nearly ended in tragedy. Yordan Iliev had an opportunity from a free kick in stoppage time, but his shot hit the left post with Roberto Grossi stranded.

Italy 0
Bulgaria 0
Attendance: 17485

Yellow Cards:
Italy: Andrea Greco, Emanuele Salvadori
Bulgaria: Yordan Iliev, Georgi Kyorlenski, Chavdar Yankov

Red Cards:
Bulgaria: Chavdar Yankov

Group A Table:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Czech Republic | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Bulgaria | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Italy | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Belgium | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_jgirl87

I like the "story of a tournament" type of story and yours looks like it is one of the more better ones that I have read, Emperor J.

KUTGW and go the Czechs. :cool:

retired_firebear369

Thanks Spav

Day 4: 14th June 2016

Scotland v. Ukraine
Parken, Copenhagen

The fourth day of the tournament begins with a matchup of the two lightweights of Group C. Scotland had seen fellow minnows Wales destroyed by Russia two days earlier, and would be looking for a better result against Eastern European opposition. Ukraine needed three points if they were going to have a chance of progressing.

Scotland (4-4-2): Craig Gordon (c), Jim Crawford, Clark Kay, Scott Bell, Patrick Scullion, Kirk Broadfoot, Darren Fletcher, Craig McBride, Charlie Adam, Kevin Cawley, Andy Bagshaw
Substitutes: Michael McGowan, Steven Whittaker, Andy Love, Graham Weir, Michael Parker, Mark Murray, David Clarkson

Ukraine (4-4-2): Kostyantyn Oliynyk, Artem Fedetskyi, Vyacheslav Goncharuk, Olexandr Yatsenko, Anatoliy Kitsuta, Oleg Husyev, Kostyantyn Kravchenko (c), Vyacheslav Kolyada, Sergiy Rozhok, Valeriy Kutsenko, Dmytro Moldovan
Substitutes: Eugene Borovyk, Olexandr Gladkyi, Igor Boyko, Igor Korotetskyi, Artem Milevskiy, Olexandr Aliev, Olexiy Gai

All of the matches in the tournament thus far had been dominated by one side. However, this one was going to be different to the relief of the neutral fans.

Scotland had the first goalscoring opportunity on fifteen minutes. Scotland broke from a Ukraine corner leading to Andy Bagshaw lifting in a cross to Kevin Cawley. His open header struck the crossbar to the disappointment of the Tartan Army.

Seven minutes later, Ukraine had their first opportunity on goal. Dmytro Moldovan cut inside from the left and fired a shot from twenty yards out, but was caught by Craig Gordon.

In the 36th minute, Ukraine benefited from some suspicious officiating. Oleg Husyev was awarded a penalty, when replays showed that Patrick Scullion had in fact won the ball cleanly. Husyev took the penalty himself, and sent Gordon the wrong way to put Ukraine in front.

Fortune appeared to be with Scotland when they equalized seven minutes later. Jim Crawford’s long throw was headed in by Anatoliy Kitsuta past a stunned Kostyantyn Oliynyk.

With all to play for in the second half, Scotland came out the more aggressive side. They were rewarded five minutes after the break. Bagshaw’s low cross skipped past Oliynyk, and Craig McBride poked it in to give Scotland a stunning lead.

With ten minutes to go, Steven Whittaker nearly made it 3-1. His curling shot from the right looked destined for the far corner, but it was pushed away by Oliynyk.

At full time, Scotland had grabbed a surprising three points, and were beginning to believe they could do damage in this tournament.

Scotland 2 (Kitsuta og 44; McBride 50)
Ukraine 1 (Husyev pen 37)
Attendance: 41641

Yellow Cards
Scotland: Darren Fletcher
Ukraine: Kostyantyn Kravchenko, Valeriy Kutsenko

retired_firebear369

Denmark v. Germany
Odense Stadion, Odense

The hosts and the holders would be meeting in the last of the first set of matches. With Scotland winning earlier in the day, the group was thrown wide open. Denmark and Germany both knew that points were vital in this clash.

Denmark (4-5-1): Kasper Schmeichel, Martin Albrechtsen, Dennis Cagara, Mikkel Bischoff, Magnus Troest, Christian Poulsen (c), Johan Absalonsen, Thomas Kahlenberg, Sebastien Svärd, Jesper Engstrøm, Lasse Qvist
Substitutes: Kenneth Stenild, Danilo Arrieta, Stefan Wagner, Sune Rostgaard, Bajram Fetai, Tommy Bechmann, Leon Andreasen

Germany (4-4-2): Tim Wiese, Kevin Schöneberg, Sascha Dum, Robert Huth, Dominik Reinhardt, Alexander Baumjohann, Dennis Grote, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marco Engelhardt (c), Ashkan Dejagah, Lukas Podolski
Substitutes: Thorsten Müller, Tim Bauer, Benjamin Lauth, Mario Gomez, Tom Bertram, Mike Hanke, Eugen Polanski

Denmark was the side that came out with a desire to score early. They took the lead on seven minutes, when Alexander Baumjohann’s terrible header across the box was volleyed in by the poaching Lasse Qvist. The home fans could not have wished for a better start.

Germany turned on the style in response, and eleven minutes later, Dennis Grote nearly had the equalizer when his deflected effort nearly had Kasper Schmeichel beaten, but the Hannover 96 goalkeeper was there to save.

Denmark’s relief was short-lived as Bastian Schweinsteiger struck a fine equaliser on nineteen minutes. The Juventus midfielder hit a superb volley from thirty yards out that went in off the crossbar.

Denmark responded by looking for another goal of their own. In the 22nd minute, Johan Absalonsen was denied by Tim Wiese from close range.

Three minutes later, Germany took the lead through Ashkan Dejagah. The Milan striker lobbed Schmeichel from twenty yards after being played through by Lukas Podolski.

Denmark desperately pushed for an equalizer in the second half. In the 50th minute, Thomas Kahlenberg found himself unmarked eight yards from goal, but his shot was turned over the bar by Wiese. From the ensuing corner, Kahlenberg had another opportunity to equalize. His header was cleared off the line by Eugen Polanski though.

In the 73rd minute, Denmark was unlucky once again. Christian Poulsen’s point-blank header had Wiese beaten only for it to bounce back off of the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Germany nearly put the match away with their first attacking move of the half. Mario Gomez found himself one-on-one with Schmeichel, but the goalkeeper made an amazing save when it looked like he had been beaten.

With six minutes to play, Sebastien Svärd’s powerful effort was stopped by Tim Wiese. Denmark had one last chance in stoppage time to equalize, but Svärd was once again denied by Wiese.

Denmark 1 (Qvist 7)
Germany 2 (Schweinsteiger 19; Dejagah 25)
Attendance: 15620

Yellow Cards
Germany:Lukas Podolski

Group C Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Germany | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Scotland | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Denmark | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Ukraine | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_lela2424

:eek: Talk 'bout shock results...

retired_firebear369

Hopefully the shock results keep coming

Day 5: 15th June 2016

Serbia & Montenegro v. Croatia
Brøndby Stadion, Brøndby

The only match of the day would be played out between the two Balkan rivals. The pair were controversially drawn in the same group, and emotions were always going to be high. With difficult matches coming up, both sides needed three points to give themselves a chance at progressing. Serbia made one change with Nemanja Vasiljevic replacing Vlada Avramov in goal, while Croatia named an unchanged side.

Serbia & Montenegro (4-4-2): Nemanja Vasiljevic, Sasa Savic, Milos Mitrovic, Milenko Zivkovic (c), Slavko Radanovic, Dusan Milovanovic, Ranko Filipovic, Zlatko Nikolic, Milos Milenkovic, Milorad Stankovic, Goran Novakovic
Substitutes: Vlada Avramov, Vladan Marinkovic, Marko Devic, Milos Andjelkovic, Danko Lazovic, Milos Ninkovic, Dejan Pavlovic

Croatia (4-4-2): Stipe Pletikosa, Marin Perko, Zoran Perokovic, Ognjen Kosanovic, Milan Horvat, Branimir Bozak, Igor Juric, Robert Dadic (c), Hrvoje Basic, Ivan Horvat, Tomislav Kalinic
Substitutes: Marko Tadic, Bruno Buncic, Niko Kranjcar, Josip Glavas, Stjepan Matkovic, Goran Tokic, Tomislav Petrovic

Vasiljevic was called into action early as Ivan Horvat fired a shot in after twenty seconds, but the goalkeeper parried it away to his left.

The match did not begin to pick up until the 32nd minute. Slavko Radanovic came in with a brutal tackle from behind on Ivan Horvat, and had little reason to protest when he saw straight red.

Down to ten men, Serbia began to struggle. On 41 minutes, Horvat was again troubling the Serbia defence. He dribbled through three defenders before firing in a shot that was palmed away by Vasiljevic.

Two minutes later, Igor Juric would put Croatia in front. His shot from the left to a deflection off of Tomislav Kalinic and past Vasiljevic, who had already committed to his left.

Serbia were reduced to nine men seven minutes after the break. Sasa Savic was sent off for a second yellow after fouling Horvat.

On the hour mark, Vasiljevic was forced to make another good save. Kalinic was through on goal, but the Red Star goalkeeper forced Kalinic to his left and blocked the shot with his body.

Two minutes later, Horvat was denied by the Serbian goalkeeper. He was played through by Marin Perko, but his powerful shot was stopped by Vasiljevic.

In the 74th minute, Croatia were once again frustrated. Josip Glavas found himself one-on-one with Vasiljevic only for the goalkeeper to tip his attempt at a chip over the bar for a corner.

Two minutes from time, Croatia finally put the match away. Milos Mitrovic ended up putting Tomislav Petrovic through on his own goal from the halfway line as Serbia chased an equaliser. Petrovic dribbled around Vasiljevic and rolled to ball in to make it 2-0 to Croatia.

In stoppage time, Vasiljevic made one more amazing save as he tipped Kalinic’s close range header over the crossbar.

Serbia & Montenegro 0
Croatia 2 (Juric 43; Petrovic 88)
Attendance: 31719

Yellow Cards
Serbia & Montenegro: Sasa Savic, Milos Mitrovic, Milos Andjelkovic
Croatia: Ognjen Kosanovic*, Hrvoje Basic*

Red Cards
Serbia & Montenegro: Sasa Savic*, Slavko Radanovic*

Suspended for next match

Group B Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Croatia | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | England | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | France | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Serbia & Mont. | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_firebear369

Day 6: 16th June 2016

France v. England
Næstved Stadion, Næstved

With Croatia’s victory yesterday, England would be the first team to book a place in the quarterfinal with a win here. France, on the other hand, would be looking to avoid having to rely on goal difference in their final match of the round by claiming at least a point.

France made two changes to their lineup for this critical encounter. Steven Thicot and Franck Brillant switched positions in the back three with the latter moving into the middle. François Bertin took the place of Thierry Bertin, who failed a fitness test, but was still able to claim a place on the bench.

England made a number of changes to their side. Richard Stearman was called upon to replace the injured Steven Taylor in defence. Gary Yates and Jacques Maghoma were moved into midfield to replace Matt Jarvis and Danny Green, with Mitchell Murphy moving up front to partner Wayne Rooney in attack.

France (3-5-2): David Amoros (c), Steven Thicot, Philippe André, Franck Brillant, Anthony Le Tallec, Hatem Ben Arfa, Jérémy Toulalan, Stéphane Le Bris, Cédric Cherfa, François Bertin, Jérôme Roger
Substitutes: Vincent Degré, Jimmy Briand, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Gaël Clichy, Thierry Viale, Matthias Lepiller, Thierry Bertin

England (4-4-2): Chris Kirkland, Glen Johnson, Martin Cranie, Chris Cohen, Richard Stearman, Jacques Maghoma, Gary Yates, Glenn Knight (c), Ben Watson, Wayne Rooney, Mitchell Murphy
Substitutes: Alex Thomas, Danny Green, Matt Jarvis, Stephen Parker, Luke Moore, Billy Jones, Ryan Gallagher

Murphy adjusted to the new role quickly as he helped England take the lead in the fifth minute. He played a fantastic through ball to Rooney and the Chelsea striker slotted it past David Amoros to put England in front.

France were not allowed a significant opportunity on goal until the half-hour mark. Jérôme Roger hit a vicious shot from the right side of the area that looked destined for the top corner, but Chris Kirkland diverted it onto the crossbar, and England cleared.

England nearly made it 2-0 with three minutes to go in the first half. Rooney had a marvelous chance with no pressure eight yards out, but he scuffed the shot, and Amoros saved easily.

It would not be wrong to state that the second half was dull. Luke Moore created the first chance of the half four minutes from time. The Aston Villa striker held off three defenders before firing in a shot that was saved by Amoros.

France nearly equalized in the 90th minute. Jimmy Briand collected a long ball, but his shot was stopped by the charging Kirkland.

A slow counterattack from that move ultimately created a goal for Moore. Ben Watson threaded a pass between four French players that left Moore with a simple tap-in.

France 0
England 2 (Rooney 5; Moore 90
Attendance: 17472

Yellow Cards
France: Jérôme Roger*
England: Wayne Rooney

Group B Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Q | England | | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Croatia | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | France | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Serbia & Mont. | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_firebear369

Day 7: 17th June 2016

Wales v. Holland
Randers Stadion, Randers

With one of the eight quarterfinal slots sealed, Russia and Holland would now have a chance to book their place as well. Wales looked terrible against Russia in their first match and they would be hoping to keep the score line respectable against the Dutch. Holland would be hoping their form from the last match would carry over against Wales.

Wales made two changes with Richard Lloyd replacing Mike Williams on the left and Ramon Calliste replacing the injured Michael Byrne. Holland replaced Mark van den Boogaart, who suffered a dislocated jaw with the experienced John Heitinga.

Wales (5-3-2): Jason Brown, Mike Pugh (c), Scott Hillman, Ryan Shawcross, Richard Duffy, Richard Lloyd, Gavin Phillips, Reece Jones, David Vaughan, Ramon Calliste, Chris Jones
Substitutes: Paul Hill, William Lock, Paul Hart, Andy Russell, Kevin Edwards, Paul Hughes, Mike Williams

Holland (4-4-2): [/i]Maarten Sneep, John Heitinga (c), Kera Diomar Fränkel, Edwin Snoek, Martijn Prijs, Daniël de Ridder, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Georginio, René Johan Ijzerman, Ruud Hammecher
Substitutes: Maarten Stekelenburg, Collins John, Robin van Persie, Erik Rozeboom, Gianni Zuiverloon, Hedwiges Maduro, Ryan Babel

As expected, Holland dominated the early proceedings. In the ninth minute, Arjen Robben’s corner met the head of Daniël de Ridder, but Jason Brown was able to tip it over.

They were able to take the lead just after the half hour mark. The pace of de Ridder allowed him to create space to send in a cross that was hit in on the half-volley by Georginio.

Holland quickly scored their second on their next attacking move. Arjen Robben put Ruud Hammecher through on goal, and he calmly slotted past Brown.

The match quickly lost its entertainment value as Holland were content with simply keeping possession and Wales resorted to long ball tactics.

Wales 0
Holland 2 (Georginio 31; Hammecher 36)
Attendance: 17974

Yellow Cards
Wales: Richard Duffy, Richard Lloyd, Paul Hart
Holland: Daniël de Ridder, Wesley Sneijder