England enter final round of matches in pole position

Such are the joys of tournament football that there’s always one day during which the results set the cat among the pigeons. Group B, which culminates on Monday night in Toulouse and St Etienne with matches between Wales and Russia and England and Slovakia, follows the pattern.

Wales coach Chris Coleman is trying to take Wales into the knockout stages of a major competition for the first time since 1958. Reuters/Andrew Boyers

The group turned during the second round of games on 15 and 16 June. Slovakia beat Russia 2-1 and England got past Wales by the same score.

As the teams broach the third and final round of games, England lead the pool with four points. Wales are second on three, the same tally as Slovakia but the Welsh are ahead because of their 2-1 victory over them in their opening match. Russia prop up the group with one point, scrambled in the dying seconds in the first game against England.

England need a draw against Slovakia to progress. That will be good enough too for Slovakia so long as Russia beat Wales. A win for Russia would take them to four points and a possibe runners-up spot if England overturn Slovakia. 

If Russia wins and England and Slovakia draw, then Russia still has a chance of advancing to the last 16 as one of the best four third-placed teams. Defeat for Wales ends their participation in the competition. So much for permutations and possibilities.

Essentially, the final game is already the start of the knockout phase. “The results from the second batch of games means everything is up for grabs again,” said Wales boss Chris Coleman. “And I suppose that’s the excitement of tournament football.

“For Wales, it’s down to us. We’re not asking for any favours. We’ve never done that. We’ve got to go and take care of business ourselves."

Coleman added: "We’ve got to bounce back from the loss to England and show a bit of mettle and a bit of steel. We’re down to the last game and we’ve got a chance. We’ve got to take it.”