England and Wales meet in historic Euro 2016 fixture

England and Wales will meet at a tournament for the first time after being drawn together at next summer’s European Championship.

The third oldest international fixture will be played at a major finals 136 years after the sides first met.

England drew Wales less than five months after being paired with Scotland in World Cup qualifying for the first time. Manager Roy Hodgson told the BBC: “Whichever teams we got in that pot would have been tough; why not have a tough one close to home?"

  Photo: REX

“We know the players because all of them basically play in England. We know the team is very well organised, play well together, have fantastic team spirit and a very strong spine.” Opposite number Chris Coleman, who had wanted to avoid England, added: “England are one of the best teams so I’m thinking if we could avoid it...

“It’s fine — it will be a great game and we’ll look forward to it.” The two home nations will also play Russia and Slovakia in Group B of what will be Wales’s first appearance at a major tournament since 1958.

However, there was a familiar feeling about the venues for England’s first competitive fixtures in France since the 1998 World Cup.

Just as they did 17 years ago, they will play in Marseille, Lens and Saint-Etienne, where, respectively, they faced Tunisia, after supporters went on a rampage; Colombia, against whom David Beckham scored his first international goal; and Argentina, who won on penalties after Beckham’s red card. Roy Hodgson’s side will open against Russia in Marseille on June 11 (8pm kick-off) before taking on Wales in Lens five days later at 2pm, and finishing with Slovakia in Saint-Etienne on June 20, at 8pm. Wales open against Slovakia in Bordeaux on June 11, with a 6pm kick-off, and finish with Russia in Toulouse on June 20 at 8pm.



Hodgson will be apprehensive about facing Gareth Bale and company, despite England having not lost to Wales since 1984. But, unlike the draw for last year’s World Cup, England’s group was not terrifying enough to prompt a cut-throat gesture from Football Association chairman Greg Dyke.

Indeed, with the top two in each group and four best third-placed sides all qualifying for the new round of 16, Hodgson will have no excuses for a repeat of the debacle in Brazil.

England won 10 out of 10 matches in qualifying for the first time and Dyke said before yesterday’s draw: “I’m looking forward to the draw but I’m looking forward to the tournament even more, because we’re going to win.”

The draw for the expanded 24-team tournament contained four teams from the British Isles for the first time since 1958 and there was a 50-50 chance England would meet one of them.

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland both were handed nightmare draws. In their first major tournament since 1986 and first Euros ever, Northern Ireland will face world champions Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

The Republic fared even worse, drawing Italy, Belgium and Sweden.

Source by http://www.telegraph.co.uk