History favours Russia for Wales finale
Friday, January 1, 2016
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Russia and Wales will hope to finish Group B positively in Toulouse, with the former holding the edge over the years, reaching the 2004 finals at their opponents' expense.
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Russia and Wales will each hope to end their UEFA EURO 2016 Group B campaign on a winning note when they meet in Toulouse in the final round of matches – although it is the Russians who have held the upper hand in the fixture over the years.
Previous meetings
• Georgi Yartsev's Russia qualified for UEFA EURO 2004 after overcoming Mark Hughes' Wales 1-0 on aggregate in a play-off. The only goal came from Vadim Evseev at the Millennium Stadium in the second leg. Defender Sergei Ignashevich played all 180 minutes, with Aleksandr Kerzhakov an unused substitute in both games and Igor Akinfeev on the bench in Cardiff.
• Russia also got the better of Wales in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, prevailing 2-1 in Moscow and 3-1 in Cardiff, where Ignashevich was among the scorers. It proved in vain, however, as Guus Hiddink's side lost in the play-offs to Slovenia.
• The teams at the Lokomotiv Stadium on 10 September 2008 – when Gareth Bale had a penalty saved by Russia goalkeeper Akinfeev with the score at 0-0 – were:
Russia: Akinfeev, Anyukov, Kolodin, Ignashevich, Zhirkov, Zyryanov, Torbinskiy (Saenko 59), Semshov, Semak (Pogrebnyak 74), Arshavin, Pavlyuchenko (Bystrov 90).
Wales: Hennessey, Gunter, Morgan, Williams, Bale, Davies, Fletcher, Robinson (Ricketts 46), Edwards (S Evans 77), Ledley, Vokes (C Evans 62).
• The lineups at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 9 September 2009 were:
Wales: Hennessey, Williams, J Collins, Gabbidon (Vokes 74), Gunter, Ricketts, Stock, Edwards, Ledley, Ramsey, Bellamy.
Russia: Akinfeev, Ignashevich, V Berezutski, Anyukov, Yanbaev, Zyryanov, Semshov (Pavlyuchenko 70), Semak, Arshavin, Bystrov, Kerzhakov (Rebko 84).
• Wales' only win in five games against the USSR came in a 1966 World Cup qualifier, Ivor Allchurch scoring the late clincher in Cardiff (2-1).
EURO facts – Russia
• This is Russia's fourth successive EURO final tournament and fifth in six as an independent nation. They have featured in seven of the last eight EUROs, including this edition, appearing as the Soviet Union in 1988 and the Commonwealth of Independent States four years later, before their debut as Russia in 1996.
• The Soviet Union won the first UEFA European Championship in 1960 and finished as runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988. Russia's best performance since independence came in 2008, when they reached the semi-finals.
EURO facts – Wales
• Wales have never before reached a UEFA European Championship final tournament. Their previous best performance came in 1976, when they lost to Yugoslavia 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, losing the first leg 2-0 in Zagreb before a 1-1 draw in Cardiff.
• Bale scored seven of Wales' 11 goals in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2016, providing two assists – meaning he scored or set up 82% of his side's goals.
Coach and player links
• Joe Allen scored in Liverpool's 3-1 second-leg win against Zenit in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32, although it was the Russian side who went through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw.
• Allen was a late substitute in Liverpool's 1-0 home victory against Anji in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League group stage. Oleg Shatov and Fedor Smolov were in the Anji team.
