Open thread for Euro 2016 matches played on 15 June 2016
Ready for round two? The last two matches of the first group stage round were completed yesterday, both ending in surprising fashion. First, Hungary continued their big tournament dominance over their neighbors Austria, even though the Austrians were touted comfortable favorites. The second match of the day was even more surprising as high-powered Portugal couldn't brush aside debutantes Iceland, making a certain Portugal star outraged over the islanders' defensive tactics that led to the one-all draw.
Today things kick off in group B, where Russia will look to hold on to some luck they found in the last minutes of the England encounter, while Slovakia will try to erase the memories of the disappointing loss to Wales and right the ship before it's too late. And a loss today would likely doom them to at best a third-place finish. Russia were far from impressive in their opening match, but they still came out of the match with a point. Russia's performance on the pitch will not be the only thing under scrutiny as UEFA will keep a close eye on their fans as an expulsion from the tournament is not out of the question if scenes seen against England repeat.
Proceedings will continue at Parc des Princes in Paris where Romania will look to surprise one of the tournament dark horses Switzerland. The Swiss weren't at their best against a 10-man Albania in the opening round, but they did enough to earn the three points. Romania on the other hand showed a very encouraging showing against one of the Euro favorites, France, but had nothing to show for it after Dimitri Payet's wonder-goal late in the opening match of the tournament.
In the final showdown of the day anything but a resounding France win will be a surprise. The French are promising to show their true face today after barely edging Romania - in a match everybody was expecting a comfortable win, and Albania could be the perfect opponent to get the ball rolling. The Albanian's showed a lot of heart against Switzerland, especially after going down to 10 men, but France are a different beast. Albania will also be without their captain and leader Lorik Cana who was the first player sent off in the tournament.
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