The Euro 2016 daily five: Elation for Wales, deflation for England



With Day 2 of Euro 2016 in the books, we have collated some of the best of our content from the last 24 hours in one place. All the latests news, plus group guides, kick-off times and news from around the teams can be found at our special microsite.

1 – Elation for Wales

“Opposites were twinned on the scoresheet|” as Richard Jolly writes, with Gareth Bale, the Real Madrid superstar, and Hal Robson-Kanu, the Reading support act, combining to lift Wales in a 2-1 opening win over Slovakia.

It was Bale, the face of the national side, who put Wales ahead 1-0 with a characteristically sublime free-kick strike. That was hardly surprising. More stunning was that the three points came via Robson-Kanu, the quiet hero with Wales’ first winner at a major tournament in 58 years.

Read Richard on the remarkable duality in "the world's most expensive player aided by a man who is available on a free transfer".

2 – Deflation for England

Where Wales seized victory, England let triumph slip. Vasili Berezutski's agonisingly perfect header saved a 1-1 draw for Russia.

For the best imagery from the match, including a look at the disorder in the stands at the end of the match, check out our photo gallery.

3 – Scene from the Marseille melting pot

Andy Mitten, travelling around France as a spectator and general observer during Euro 2016, files a dispatch from Marseille with a view of the scene on the street.

“They talked about protecting their home city from these northern invaders, but really they were just looking to justify their planned violence. One man joined up with them – then returned – his T-shirt slightly ripped as he rubbed his face.

‘A good fight,’ he said.

‘Who with?’ I asked.

‘Just a little argument over a cheeseburger,’ he replied with a sardonic smile.”

4 – A slice of Leicester City

Richard Jolly examines the state of Northern Ireland, a squad full of misfits and longshots that, in its way, calls to mind Leicester City.

“They became the first team seeded fifth to top a qualifying group. They were ranked 129th in the world as recently as 2012. Now they are competing with the elite, as both equals and ultimate underdogs.”

5 – Switzerland bailed out

There weren't just the two Euro 2016 contests on Saturday night. Switzerland played Albania in the early affair and Fabian Schar's early goal held up through the rest of the match in a 1-0 victory.

“I was not afraid of losing our lead, but we should have scored more,” Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “We will be mentally stronger after coming through this.”

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'Top Gun: Maverick'

Rating: 4/5

 

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

 

Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris

 

Correspondents

By Tim Murphy

(Grove Press)

The Lowdown

Kesari

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra

 

The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe

Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads

Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike

They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users

Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance

They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians


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