Translate

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Euro 2016: Wales v Northern Ireland, England v Iceland & Republic of Ireland v France in last 16

Wales will play Northern Ireland in the last 16 of Euro 2016, while England take on Iceland and the Republic of Ireland face France.
The Republic were minutes from going out but finished third in Group E with a late 1-0 win over Italy and progress.
Wales, who topped Group B, play Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland in Paris on Saturday (17:00 BST) live on BBC One.
England, who were runners-up behind Wales, play surprise Group F runners-up Iceland in Nice on Monday (20:00 BST).
Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland side, who like Northern Ireland qualified as one of four best third-placed teams, take on hosts France in Lyon on Sunday at 14:00 BST.
Neither Northern Ireland nor Wales had ever qualified for the European Championship before this year's edition, the first to feature 24 teams, while it is the first time the Republic have made the knockout stages of a Euros.
The last time the Republic of Ireland played France was in 2009, when Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build-up to the deciding goal in a World Cup qualification play-off.
With a population of just 330,000, England's opponents Iceland arethe smallest nation ever to qualify for the tournament.
The Republic of Ireland were heading out before a late Robbie Brady header gave them a 1-0 win over Italy and sent them through as another one of the best third-placed teams.
Winger James McClean said the sight of "grown men crying and complete love for our country" was "quite remarkable", adding: "We knew it would be win or bust, we left nothing on the field, the best night of my life, hands down."
Goalscorer Brady said he was "absolutely flabbergasted" by the result and described it as an "out of body experience".
That dramatic climax echoed scenes earlier on Wednesday as Iceland sealed second place in Group F by scoring a last-minute goal to beat Austria 2-1.
That twist left Portugal in third - after their star forward Cristiano Ronaldo criticised Iceland's "small mentality" earlier in the group stages.
Had the match finished 1-1, England would have faced Portugal in the last 16 instead.
The Portuguese, who now play Group D winners Croatia, knocked England out of the European Championship in 2004 and the World Cup in 2006, both times after a penalty shootout.
BBC commentator John Motson said: "The third-place argument has been laid to rest. Who would have thought when we started this adventure that England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland would all be in the last 16?"

The full draw

All times BST
Switzerland v Poland (Saturday 14:00 on BBC)
Wales v Northern Ireland (Saturday 17:00 on BBC)
Croatia v Portugal (Saturday 20:00 on ITV)
France v Republic of Ireland (Sunday 14:00 on ITV)
Germany v Slovakia (Sunday 17:00 on ITV)
Hungary v Belgium (Sunday 20:00 on BBC)
Italy v Spain (Monday 17:00 on BBC)
England v Iceland (Monday 20:00 on ITV)

Key stats

  • Portugal forward Ronaldo became the first player to score at four different Euros when he netted against Hungary.
  • This year's final is already guaranteed to feature a nation that has never won a major tournament.
  • England averaged 60.5% possession in the group stages; Iceland's was 29.0%.
  • Victory over Italy was the Republic of Ireland's first Euros win since beating England in their first ever game at the finals in 1988.
  • Wales and Hungary scored more goals than any other team (six) in the group stages.
  • 69 goals have been scored so far, a rate of 1.92 per game, the lowest average for a Euro group phase 1992 (1.75).
  • 27.5% of the goals came from the 80th minute onwards (19).
  • This is the first time since 1996 that no team won all three of their group games.
Source:BBC

No comments:

Post a Comment