England team captain Wayne Rooney. (Photo : Getty Images)
Dark horse squad Slovakia (1-1-0, 3 points) and tournament-favorites England (1-0-1, 4 points) are set to square off at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on June 20, Monday as the Group B competitions of the 2016 UEFA European Championship concludes.
Slovakia is currently tied with Wales in the second spot of the group table as they both split their first two games in the tournament. If the Falcons can pull off an upset over the Three Lions in this match, then they have a chance at landing at the top of the standings into the knockout stages while England is already assured of a third place finish in the group no matter what.
Repre defeated Russia, 2-1, in their second round game at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq on Wednesday to clinch their first win of the tourney, ESPN reported.
Head coach Jan Kozak's side scored two goals in the first half to put the pressure on the Russians early on. The opening goal was made by left winger Vladimir Weiss at the 32nd minute off an assist by teammate and vice-captain Marek Hamsik.
The Napoli central midfielder returned the favor right at the stroke off halftime as he executed a nice cross which was converted by Weiss into their second goal, doubling the Slovaks' lead going into the interval.
Midfielder Denis Glushakov netted a consolation goal for the Russians with ten minutes left before full time to establish the final count.
Meanwhile, England pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind win on Thursday against cross-country rivals Wales, 2-1, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens for their first win of the competitions as well, via Daily Mail Online.
Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale opened the scoring three minutes before the half with a stunning 35-yard free kick to threaten the English national team with possibly their first loss to Wales since 1984.
Head coach Roy Hodgson's boys started the game sluggish and laidback, which allowed the Dragons to take advantage, leading to Bale's opening goal.
Their play improved after the restart when Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge substituted for Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
It proved to be a crucial move for Hodgson as the Leicester City striker ended up equalizing the match 11 minutes into the second half while the Liverpool forward netted the winning goal during injury time to keep England's perfect record over Wales in the last 30 plus years.
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for England.
Slovakia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan; Kucka, Pecovsky; Mak, Hamsik, Weiss; Duda
England starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Hart; Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose; Alli, Dier, Rooney; Lallana, Kane, Sterling
