England faces the twin threats of a disqualification warning if their fans misbehave and a motivated Gareth Bale ahead of their Euro 2016 showdown with neighbours Wales in Lens today.
The bloody clashes between rival fans that marred England’s opening 1-1 draw with Russia in Marseille at the weekend left Roy Hodgson’s side facing the threat of elimination from European governing body UEFA.
England midfielder Adam Lallana said that such an outcome would be ‘devastating’ and Hodgson and team captain Wayne Rooney have released a video message pleading for calm.
Of equal concern to Hodgson will be the danger posed by Real Madrid forward Bale, whose stunning 25-yard free-kick against Slovakia in Bordeaux set Wales on their way to a 2-1 win.
With England having dropped points against Russia, a second Group B defeat would seriously compromise their chances of remaining in the competition, as well as propelling Wales into the last-16.
Lallana, a former Southampton teammate of Bale’s, believes it would be foolish to focus all their attention on the Welsh number 11.
“You don’t want to leave your team too vulnerable on the counter-attack with players like Bale playing. But it’s not a one-man show,” said the Liverpool midfielder. “They’ve got plenty of other good players. So we can’t just put all our focus on Gareth and then get sucker-punched by one of their other good players.”
Bale raised the temperature even before his team’s meeting with Slovakia, saying that England ‘big themselves up before they’ve done anything’ and that Wales play with ‘more passion and pride’.
It drew a rebuke from Hodgson, who described the remarks as ‘disrespectful’, but Bale is standing by what he said.
“It’s good that they bit,” Bale told a press conference in Dinard on Tuesday. “I really don’t care what they say. We know we’re a good team and we know we can beat them on our day.”
Asked how many England players would get into the Wales team, he grinned: “None”.
Germany focus on Poland for emotional Paris return
Old rivalries and fresh memories face Germany when they return to the Stade de France in Paris to face familiar foes Poland in a crucial clash just seven months after being caught up in last November’s terror attacks in Paris.
Die Mannschaft were forced to spend a traumatic night in the dressing rooms at France’s national stadium when a series of jihadist attacks across Paris left 130 dead on a night they faced the French in a friendly.
However, Boateng insists Germany will not be spooked by their return to Paris as they look to take a firm grip of Group C. “It’s not a topic for us, we feel safe and are concentrating on sporting matters,” said the Bayern Munich defender.
Of more immediate concern to Joachim Low’s men will be the sight of Boateng’s Bayern teammate Robert Lewandowski in a Poland side high in confidence after winning their first ever game at the European Championships 1-0 over Northern Ireland on Sunday.
“Lewandowski is a top striker,” said Boateng. “At the club, we play together, but we had often played against each other before and we’ll certainly come up against each other this time as well.”
Hungary stun 10-man Austria to end 30-year wait
Adam Szalai and Zoltan Stieber scored second-half goals as Hungary stunned highly-fancied Austria 2-0 in their Group F opener in Bordeaux on Tuesday.
Austria, tipped as tournament dark horses, dominated the opening period but Szalai fired Hungary ahead on 62 minutes with Stieber wrapping up a shock victory over their old rivals late on in the 138th meeting between the sides.
“The players played out of their skins,” said Hungary coach Bernd Storck, who had previously described just qualifying for the tournament as a ‘miracle’. “This game today against such a difficult team, we had to play some very good football. We had a bit of luck, but you need a bit of luck in football.”
Austria coach Marcel Koller bemoaned a disappointing performance which cranks up the pressure on his side ahead of Saturday’s game against Portugal in Paris.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do what we wanted today,” he said. “Maybe some players were nervous because it was the beginning. The situation now is we’ll have to try and win against Portugal.”
Ronaldo slams Iceland for ‘parking the bus’
Cristiano Ronaldo slammed minnows Iceland for proverbially ‘parking the bus’ in front of their goal as they held Group F favourites Portugal to a 1-1 draw.
Real Madrid ace Ronaldo had 10 of Portugal’s 24 shots on goal in Saint Etienne on Tuesday, but failed to become the first man to score in four European Championships.
A superb finish by Nani gave Portugal the lead before Iceland’s industrious midfielder Birkir Bjarnason volleyed the equaliser.
“It was difficult over the 90 minutes, because they scored one goal and that was after they had put every player behind the ball,” fumed Ronaldo. “Iceland didn’t try nothing, they just defend, defend, defend, they had two chances and scored a goal, it was a lucky night for them. We’re frustrated, they didn’t try and play. It’s why I think they will do nothing here. In my opinion, it’s a small mentality.”
