The second day of Euro 2020 is upon us and there is three times the fun from the opening night with six teams taking to the field for their opening matches.
Wales made a huge impression on the European Championship in France five years ago, when Gareth Bale, a beach-blonde Aaron Ramsey and “the Welsh Pirlo” Joe Allen improbably inspired Chris Coleman’s side to the semi-final, where they were defeated by eventual champions Portugal.
Caretaker boss Robert Page will be well aware of the need to get off to a good start in Group A if they are to emulate their success from Euro 2016, but Switzerland are major tournament veterans and experts at reaching the round of 16, if usually no further.
Group B also gets underway, with an all-Nordic clash between Denmark and tournament newcomers Finland going first, before the best team in the world, according to Fifa’s latest world rankings, Belgium, take on Russia.
Surprise champions in 1992, Denmark have a strong spine consisting of Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer, Tottenham enforcer Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Inter Milan playmaker Christian Eriksen and could be dark horses to reach the latter stages.
They will expect to get their tournament off to a winning start against Finland, who are appearing in the finals for the first time in their history. The Danes will be wary of the threat posed by Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki, though, as he was the fourth-top scorer in qualifying, netting 10 times, in total.
Wrapping things up on day two of the tournament are Belgium and Russia. As has been the case in recent years, the Belgians are highly-fancied to perform well given the strength and experience of their starting XI. However, they are set to be without their talisman Kevin De Bruyne for the opening game as he recovers from a fractured nose and eye socket sustained in the Champions League final.
Russia, who reached the World Cup quarter-final on home soil three years ago, are one of the harder teams to predict, although home advantage may help them once again. Barrel-chested frontman Artem Dzyuba is their danger man after top-scoring in the Russian league with Zenit St Petersburg last season.
How to watch Wales vs Switzerland
- Date: Saturday 12 June
- Kick-off time: 2pm [BST]
- Venue: Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan)
- TV channel: BBC One
- Live stream: Watch the game online via BBC iPlayer or via the iPlayer app
- Highlights: Shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer throughout the tournament
How to watch Denmark vs Finland
- Date: Saturday 12 June
- Kick-off time: 5pm
- Venue: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark)
- TV channel: BBC One
- Live stream: Watch the game online via BBC iPlayer or via the iPlayer app
- Highlights: Shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer throughout the tournament
How to watch Belgium vs Russia
- Date: Saturday 12 June
- Kick-off time: 8pm
- Venue: Gazprom Arena, Saint Petersburg (Russia)
- TV channel: ITV
- Live stream: Watch the game online via ITV Hub
- Highlights: Shown on ITV Hub each matchday
Team news
Page’s biggest selection dilemma appears to revolve around his attack and whether to select Cardiff City’s target man Kieffer Moore up front or else use Bale centrally, rather than on the right wing.
Roma-bound Granit Xhaka is Switzerland’s leader and will be partnered in midfield by other Borussia Monchengladbach’s highly-rated Denis Zakaria or Atalanta’s Remo Freuler.
Like Page, Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand has a conundrum in attack with Martin Braithwaite, Kasper Dolberg and Yusuf Poulsen, all vying for the centre-forward position.
Finland could be without their captain Tim Sparv after he missed their 1-0 defeat to Estonia last Friday after only recently recovering from a knee injury.
Belgium are set to be without De Bruyne for their first match, but could call upon Eden Hazard after he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win against Croatia on Sunday.
Russia midfielder Andrei Mostovoy has tested positive for Covid-19 and been replaced in the squad by CSKA Moscow’s Roman Yevgenyev.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3zfPeM1
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