‘Victory for St George, defeat for the Dragon’ was how the commentators put it after England overturned a one-goal deficit to beat Wales in their Group B match in Lens.
Right now, however, it’s the red dragon who will be much the happier at the end of the group stage in their first appearance at a major football tournament.
England’s struggle to break down Slovakia and Wales’ demolition job against Russia reversed their positions in the table, meaning Wales go into the second round on a much better footing than their near neighbours.
There are permutations given the increased number of teams at this year’s championship, but what’s guaranteed is that Wales will play a third-place finisher in the last 16.
Interestingly, while England have dominated the stats in terms of possession and shots, it’s the Welsh who have played the better football and look the team more capable of causing an upset as the tournament progresses.
Despite losing to them in their second game, Wales have scored twice as many goals as England in the tournament to date. They possess a team that largely picks itself, revolving around a few key players like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey (while Joe Allen has also been a quiet hero for them), and operate with an exciting counter-attacking style.
While England attempted over 60 shots across their first three games, their conversion rate is a paltry five per cent. Their opening goal in the tournament came via an unlikely source, an Eric Dier free kick, while their two goals against the Welsh came off the bench.
With less than 40 shots so far, Chris Coleman’s men have scored six times with a conversion rate of 16 per cent. Averaging just over 40 per cent in the possession stakes, Wales haven’t dominated their games like the English may have, but have been more clinical when they do get into their final third.
Question marks still abound over what England’s best starting 11 is. Does Harry Kane start up front on Monday despite a blanking in the group stage?
Does Roy Hodgson go with Jamie Vardy or with Daniel Sturridge? Even the question of which formation they should use still seems up in the air.
Wales seem a good bet to reach the quarter-finals, which may mean a showdown against the beatable Belgians.
England on the other hand will likely have a harder route to the final eight, and it’s likely that they’ll have to face off against the hosts France then – which right now looks an uphill task.
