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Friday, June 17, 2016


England got their Euro 2016 dream back on track after a dramatic 2-1 win over Wales in Lens in a game that had been dubbed the Battle of Britain.
Gareth Bale had given the Welsh an early lead, but a second half equaliser and a stoppage time winner from substitutes Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge turned the game on its head.
England had dominated the first half, but just as had been the case against Russia, couldn’t make their chances count and were left paying for it at the break.
Raheem Sterling kept his place in the team, despite calls for the winger to be dropped, although he was soon under scrutiny again after he sent a glorious chance in the opening few minutes over the crossbar when the goal was gaping.
England were awarded a number of free-kicks as the first half wore on, one of which saw Gary Cahill’s flicked header gratefully grasped by Wayne Hennessey. A header from Chris Smalling later flew agonisingly wide from a corner, while the team in white shouted for a penalty when the ball struck the arm of Ben Davies inside the six-yard box.
When Wales broke the deadlock it was a rare chance as Bale made Joe Hart pay for a bad mistake. The England goalkeeper got two hands to the low free-kick but only managed to push the ball into the goal to send the Welsh end of the stadium into meltdown.
Roy Hodgson threw caution to the wind at half-time, putting both Sturridge and Vardy into the mix. It sparked a reaction in the Three Lions ranks and the pressure on the Wales back-line was immediately ramped up.

After Wayne Rooney soon forced Hennessey into a save, England were back level from the resultant corner. Vardy lived up to his reputation and was on hand to turn the ball home inside the six-yard box after it came off the head of Ashley Williams.
It then promptly became a backs to the wall job for Wales, who struggled to even get out of their own penalty area for a time.
Marcus Rashford set a new record as England’s youngest ever player at the European Championships when he replaced Adam Lallana for the final 20 minutes and gave his team yet another attacking threat.
As the clock ticked over 90 and into stoppage time it looked like it wasn’t going to happen for England. Wales had defended resolutely but one tiny gap was all that Sturridge needed to squeeze the ball through and past Hennessey to win it.
England: Hart, Walker, Smalling, Cahill, Rose, Dier, Lallana (Rashford – 73′), Rooney, Alli, Sterling (Sturridge – 45′), Kane (Vardy – 45′)
Wales: Hennessey, Gunter, Chester, Williams, Davies, Taylor, Allen, Ledley (Edwards – 67′), Ramsey, Bale, Robson-Kanu (J.Williams – 72′)

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