England and Wales will meet for the first time in a major tournament after they were drawn in the same group for Euro 2016.
Roy Hodgson’s men take on Chris Coleman’s side on Thursday June 16 in Lens in what will be the teams’ second match in Group B. It was the draw Coleman had been hoping to avoid, but Russia and Slovakia are the other opponents in the group meaning the most daunting rivals had been avoided.
Northern Ireland were drawn in Group C with world champions Germany, plus Poland and Ukraine.
Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland side were drawn in Group E, which looks to be the toughest in terms of the path to the knock-out rounds, with Belgium, who are currently top of the Fifa world rankings, Sweden and Italy.
England kick off their campaign in Marseille on Saturday 11 June against Russia, meet Wales five days later, and end the group against Slovakia in St-Étienne on Monday 20 June.
Marseille, Lens and St-Étienne were also the venues for three of England’s matches in the 1998 World Cup in France, memorable for goals by Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Michael Owen.
Draw in full
GROUP A France, Switzerland, Romania, Albania,
GROUP B England, Russia, Slovakia, Wales,
GROUP C Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Northern Ireland,
GROUP D Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Turkey,
GROUP E Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Republic of Ireland,
GROUP F Portugal, Austria, Hungary, Iceland,
Source:https://www.theguardian.com
