The crowd in Toulouse watched one of the most brilliant matches in the history of Welsh football. Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Just nine minutes later Neil Taylor doubled the lead, and in the 67th minute Bale himself put the ball in the net. With that goal he set a new record for the most goals scored for his country at a major tournament.
Russia head coach Leonid Slutsky replaced all three of his central midfielders, turning to Denis Glushakov, Pavel Mamayev and Roman Shirokov. Dmitri Kombarov started at left-back. Sam Vokes was the only change to the Wales starting eleven.
Real Madrid’s superstar Gareth Bale could have opened the scoring in the first minute, when he advanced into the penalty area and shot with his left foot, but Igor Akinfeev saved. Russia then tried to press higher, which worked for about 10 minutes, but in the 11th minute Joe Allen produced a brilliant assist for Aaron Ramsey, who went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and lobbed him for the first goal of the game. 1-0 to Wales!
The Russians looked badly shaken after the goal, and the Dragons took full advantage. In the 20th minute Gareth Bale dribbled through the centre of the pitch; a Russian defender touched the ball and, unfortunately for his side, it fell to Swansea City left-back Neil Taylor, who had no trouble scoring the second goal of the game.
Wales were simply better than their opponents and created many chances, mainly on the counter-attack. In the second half Bale had a shot from a free kick, but he could not repeat his efforts from the first two games against Slovakia and England. The forward eventually found the net in the 67th minute. Aaron Ramsey played a great pass; Sam Vokes was in an offside position but did not touch the ball. Gareth Bale ran on to it down the left flank and finished with the outside of his left foot. 3-0!
The road to the semi-finals
Winning Group B set up a Round of 16 meeting with Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 25 June 2016. The tie was tight and was settled by a single goal in the 75th minute, an own goal by Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley, which sent Wales through 1-0.
The quarter-final against Belgium at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on 1 July 2016 produced the most celebrated result of the tournament for Chris Coleman’s side. Radja Nainggolan gave Belgium the lead in the 13th minute, but captain Ashley Williams equalised in the 31st minute, Hal Robson-Kanu put Wales ahead ten minutes after half-time and Sam Vokes added the third in the 86th minute. Wales won 3-1 and reached the last four.
The run ended in Lyon on 6 July 2016. Portugal won the semi-final 2-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in the 50th minute and Nani three minutes later. Portugal went on to beat France 1-0 after extra time in the final at the Stade de France.
Why the tournament mattered for Wales
Euro 2016 was the first European Championship that Wales had ever played in, and their first major tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where they had reached the quarter-finals. A semi-final on debut made it the deepest run in the country’s history at a major finals. Chris Coleman, who had been appointed in January 2012, stayed in charge until November 2017. Wales missed out on the 2018 World Cup, but returned at Euro 2020, where they reached the Round of 16, and then qualified for the 2022 World Cup, their first World Cup since 1958.
Questions people ask
Who scored for Wales against Russia at Euro 2016?
Aaron Ramsey scored in the 11th minute, Neil Taylor in the 20th and Gareth Bale in the 67th. The match was played at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse on 20 June 2016 and ended 3-0.
How did the 3-0 win affect the Group B table?
Wales finished top of Group B with 6 points, ahead of England on 5, Slovakia on 4 and Russia on 1. Russia were eliminated after collecting a single point from their three games.
How far did Wales go at Euro 2016?
Wales beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in the Round of 16 and Belgium 3-1 in the quarter-finals. They lost 2-0 to Portugal in the semi-final in Lyon on 6 July 2016.
How many goals did Gareth Bale score in the Euro 2016 group stage?
Bale scored in all three group matches: against Slovakia, England and Russia. That made three goals in the group stage, each of them in a different game.