Russia steals a point from England.

England 1- Russia 1 Group B
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

It was a win for Russia.

A dominant England team could not score enough goals to deny Russia a point in the second Group B match of the 2016 European Championship.
The concern throughout the match was if England will win or draw. Russia was not doing enough for questions to be asked about England’s chances of losing the match.
It was a match controlled by the English team. Russia gained the confidence to attack more as the match stayed at 0-0. Even at this point, Joe Hart did not have a lot of work to do for England.

All goals came in the second half. A free kick in front of the Russian penalty box was awarded to England. It was directly in front of goal and demanded a well-placed shot or a powerful piercing shot. England didn’t have on their team a free kick taker that could place the ball up and down the wall, so the went for a power shot. And it worked. Eric Dier power shot went up to the roof of the net. England was up 1:0 in the 73rd minute.

After Dier’s goal, the question was how many goals can England score now?

With nothing to lose, Russia started to get up front and take a few chances at goal. The risk paid off as late in the game Russia scored to even it up. 1-1 in the 90th minute.Vasili Berezutski broke the hearts of England fans all over. There was no time for England to come back, and Russia felt that was enough to sit back and defend.

The next Group B match for England is against Wales. Wales are currently the leaders in Group B. A win for England will put them above Wales.

Russia will be facing Albania, a win for Russia will put them in a good position to get into the knockout stage. Albania will be out of the tournament with a loss.

England will be hoping to beat Wales and climb to the top to the table. A win for Russia against Albania can also see them climb to the top of the table. Goal difference will determine that.

The ideal situation for England will be to win their next match against Wales, while Russia and Albania play to a draw. Russia will be hoping to beat Albania, and see England and Wales play to a draw.

For the neutrals, all teams playing a draw in their next Group B match will make for an intense final matches in the group.

As it stands…….