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2016 European Football Championship

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The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was the fifteenth European Championships and was held in France between 10 June and 10 July 2016. It was the first European Championship to feature 24 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from 16 teams. The tournament was won by Portugal beating France 1-0 after extra time at Stade de France, Saint-Denis to win their first title.

• 1. Host selection
• 2. Qualifying
• 3. Euro 2016 Finals
• 4. Wales and the 2016 European Championship
• i. Qualification
• ii. Finals
• 5. Wales players used during qualifying
• 6. Wales players used during the tournament

Host selection

Four bids came to host the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship with France, Italy, Turkey and a joint bid from Norway and Sweden being presented. Norway and Sweden withdrew their bid in December 2009.

UEFA's Executive Committee met on 28 May 2010 and eliminated Italy in the first round of voting before France's bid was accepted by seven votes to six in the second round.

Qualifying

All 53 UEFA members entered the qualification tournament for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship with Gibraltar taking part in a qualifying tournament for the first time.

The nine group winners and group runners-up would qualify automatically for the final tournament with the eight remaining third place sides entering a two legged play-off for the four remaining places.

Wales were seeded in the fourth pot and were drawn into Group B alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Israel, Cyprus and Andorra. This was the first time Wales had played Andorra and the first time Wales had faced Bosnia-Herzegovina in a competitive match.

Uefa qualifying group B

no.	date	score	scorers (wales)	venue
611	09/09/2014	Andorra 1-2 Wales	Bale (2)	Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella	ECQ
	09/09/2014	Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-2 Cyprus		Stadion Bilino polje, Zenica	ECQ
612	10/10/2014	Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina		Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	ECQ
	10/10/2014	Belgium 6-0 Andorra		Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	ECQ
	10/10/2014	Cyprus 1-2 Israel		GSP Stadium, Nicosia	ECQ
	13/10/2014	Andorra 1-4 Israel		Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella	ECQ
	13/10/2014	Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Belgium		Stadion Bilino polje, Zenica	ECQ
613	13/10/2014	Wales 2-1 Cyprus	Cotterill, Robson-Kanu	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	ECQ
614	16/11/2014	Belgium 0-0 Wales		Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	ECQ
	16/11/2014	Cyprus 5-0 Andorra		GSP Stadium, Nicosia	ECQ
	16/11/2014	Israel 3-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina		Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa	ECQ
	28/03/2015	Andorra 0-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina		Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella	ECQ
	28/03/2015	Belgium 5-0 Cyprus		Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	ECQ
615	28/03/2015	Israel 0-3 Wales	Ramsey, Bale (2)	Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa	ECQ
	31/03/2015	Israel 0-1 Belgium		Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa	ECQ
	12/06/2015	Andorra 1-3 Cyprus		Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella	ECQ
	12/06/2015	Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 Israel		Stadion Bilino polje, Zenica	ECQ
616	12/06/2015	Wales 1-0 Belgium	Bale	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	ECQ
	03/09/2015	Belgium 3-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina		Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	ECQ
617	03/09/2015	Cyprus 0-1 Wales	Bale	GSP Stadium, Nicosia	ECQ
	03/09/2015	Israel 4-0 Andorra		Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa	ECQ
618	06/09/2015	Wales 0-0 Israel		Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	ECQ
	06/09/2015	Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 Andorra		Stadion Bilino polje, Zenica	ECQ
	06/09/2015	Cyprus 0-1 Belgium		GSP Stadium, Nicosia	ECQ
	10/10/2015	Andorra 1-4 Belgium		Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella	ECQ
619	10/10/2015	Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 Wales		Stadion Bilino polje, Zenica	ECQ
	10/10/2015	Israel 1-2 Cyprus		Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem	ECQ
	13/10/2015	Belgium 3-1 Israel		Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	ECQ
	13/10/2015	Cyprus 2-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina		GSP Stadium, Nicosia	ECQ
620	13/10/2015	Wales 2-0 Andorra	Bale, Ramsey	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	ECQ

	AND	BEL	BOS	CYP	ISR	WAL
AND		1-4	0-3	1-3	1-4	1-2
BEL	6-0		3-1	5-0	3-1	0-0
BOS	3-0	1-1		1-2	3-1	2-0
CYP	5-0	0-1	2-3		1-2	0-1
ISR	4-0	0-1	3-0	1-2		0-3
WAL	2-0	1-0	0-0	2-1	0-0

Group standings

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Belgium	10	7	2	1	24	5	23
2.	Wales	10	6	3	1	11	4	21
3.	Bosnia-Herzegovina	10	5	2	3	17	12	17
4.	Israel	10	4	1	5	16	14	13
5.	Cyprus	10	4	0	6	16	17	12
6.	Andorra	10	0	0	10	4	36	0

2016 UEFA European Championships

Group A

no.	date	score	scorers (wales)	venue
625	11/06/2016	Wales 2-1 Slovakia	Bale, Robson-Kanu	Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux	EC
	11/06/2016	England 1-1 Russia		Stade Vélodrome, Marseille	ECQ
	15/06/2016	Russia 1-2 Slovakia		Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille	ECQ
626	16/06/2016	England 2-1 Wales	Bale	Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens	EC
627	20/06/2016	Russia 0-3 Wales	Ramsey, Taylor, Bale	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	EC
	20/06/2016	Slovakia 0-0 England		Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne	ECQ

Group standings

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Wales	3	2	0	1	6	3	6
2.	England	3	1	2	0	3	2	5
3.	Slovakia	3	1	1	1	3	3	4
4.	Russia	3	0	1	2	2	6	1

Uefa Euro 2016 Finals
Knockout stages

no.	date	score	scorers (wales)	venue
Last 16
	25/06/2016	Switzerland 1-1 Poland (aet) (4-5 pens)		Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne	ECQ
628	25/06/2016	Wales 1-0 Northern Ireland	o.g.	Parc des Princes, Paris	EC
	25/06/2016	Croatia 0-1 Portugal (aet)		Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens	ECQ
	26/06/2016	France 2-1 Republic of Ireland		Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon	ECQ
	26/06/2016	Germany 3-0 Slovakia		Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille	ECQ
	27/06/2016	Hungary 0-4 Belgium		Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	ECQ
	27/06/2016	Italy 2-0 Spain		Stade de France, Saint-Denis	ECQ
	27/06/2016	England 1-2 Iceland		Stade de Nice, Nice	ECQ
Quarter Final
	30/06/2016	Poland 1-1 Portugal (aet) (3-5 pens)		Stade Vélodrome, Marseille	ECQ
629	01/07/2016	Wales 3-1 Belgium	A. Williams, Robson-Kanu, Vokes	Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille	EC
	02/07/2016	Germany 1-1 Italy (aet) (6-5 pens)		Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux	ECQ
	03/07/2016	France 5-2 Iceland		Stade de France, Saint-Denis	ECQ
Semi Final
630	06/07/2016	Portugal 2-0 Wales		Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon	EC
	07/07/2016	Germany 0-2 France		Stade Vélodrome, Marseille	ECQ
Final
	03/07/2016	Portugal 1-0 France (aet)		Stade de France, Saint-Denis	ECQ

Wales and the 2016 European Championship

Qualification

Wales were seeded in the fourth pot and were drawn into Group B alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Israel, Cyprus and Andorra. This was the first time Wales had played Andorra and the first time Wales had faced Bosnia-Herzegovina in a competitive match.

With less than a week to go before Wales' opening match of the campaign the venue was still in doubt as Andorra awaited a UEFA inspection of the newly laid 3G pitch at the Estadi Nacional.

Two goals from Gareth Bale ensured Wales got off to a successful but nervy start to their campaign.

A goal-less draw at home to group top seeds, Bosnia-Herzegovina, followed by a win over Cyprus coupled with Bosnia's draw with Belgium saw Wales top the group.

Israel, having stunned Bosnia in their previous match were outclassed by a rampant Wales side in Haifa as goals from Aaron Ramsey and two from Gareth Bale ensured Wales retain top spot in the group at the half way point in the campaign.

Belgium's win over Israel in their game in hand took them to the top of the table on goal difference however an excellent victory for Wales over De Rode Duivels in the top of the table clash took Wales back to the top of the group.

A win against Israel would have secured Wales' place at the Euro2016 finals, but a late Simon Church goal ruled out for offside meant Wales suffered a frustrating goalless draw at the Cardiff City Stadium and coupled with a win for Belgium in Cyprus the result saw Chris Coleman's men slip to second place in the group.

However, a point in Bosnia-Herzegovina would be enough to ensure Wales qualified for the finals and despite being beaten by Milan Djuric and Vedad Ibisevic's second-half goals Cyprus' 2-1 victory in Israel meant Wales were guaranteed second spot and the result sparked wild celebrations from the away fans in Zenica.

Players used during qualifying

Wales used 25 players during the campaign. Wayne Hennessey, Chris Gunter and Ashley Williams played every minute of every game with Gareth Bale playing some part of every match.

Jake Taylor won his first cap against Cyprus as a second half substitute in the Cardiff City Stadium whilst Tom Lawrence won his first cap as a second half substitute in the last match of the campaign at home to Andorra.

Player	AND	BIH	CYP	BEL	ISR	BEL	CYP	ISR	BIH	AND
Joe Allen	90			90	90	90			85
Gareth Bale	90	90	90	90	90	87	89	90	90	90
James Chester	90	90	90	90		90				90
Simon Church	62	65	6				1	11	6	4
James Collins					90
David Cotterill			84	45
Ben Davies	90	90			90		90	90	90	90
Dave Edwards			32				90	90	5	22
Chris Gunter	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90
Wayne Hennessey	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90
Emyr Huws	1
Andy King	76	90	48			1	90	86
Tom Lawrence										45
Joe Ledley	28	90	90	90	47	90			75
Shaun Macdonald					5		1
Aaron Ramsey	89			90	85	90	89	90	90	90
Ashley Richards						90	90	90	90
Hal Robson-Kanu		25	84	90	69	89	68	79	84	23
Jake Taylor			6
Neil Taylor	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90
David Vaughan					43					90
Sam Vokes					21	3	22	4	15	90
Ashley Williams	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90	90
George Williams	14	8	58	45
Jonathan Williams		82								86

Wales and the 2016 European Championship

UEFA Euro 2020 Finals

The draw for the final tournament was held at the Palais des Congrés, Paris on 12 December 2015. The 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four.

Wales were seeded in the fourth pot and were drawn into Group B alongside England, Russia and Slovkia.

With Wayne Hennessey injured on the morning of the opening match, Danny Ward made his first start for Wales at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux. Gareth Bale and Hal Robson-Kanu scored in the 2–1 victory that put Wales top of the group following England's 1-1 draw with Russia later in the day.

In their second match, against England in Lens, Wales led 1–0 at half-time through another Bale free-kick, but a last minute winner from Daniel Sturridge saw England steal the three points.

A 3-0 win against Russia at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse in the last group game, coupled with England's draw with Slovakia saw Wales top the group and secure a place in the last-16 against Northern Ireland.

The match at the Parc des Princes in Paris was settled by a Gareth McAuley own goal and meant Wales advanced to the quarter finals to face Belgium.

Despite going behind to a long-range effort from Radja Nainggolan, Wales secured a famous victory thanks to goals from Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Vokes.

Wales would have to face Portugal in the semi-final without Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies, both of whom picked up their second yellow cards in the win over Belgium and had to serve a one match suspension.

The first half of the semi-final in the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon was goalless, but goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani early in the second half saw Portugal claim a 2–0 win.

Players used during the finals

Wales used 19 players during the finals. James Chester, Chris Gunter, Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams played every minute of every game whilst Joe Allen and Gareth Bale played some part of every game.

Player	SLO	ENG	RUS	NIR	BEL	POR
Joe Allen	90	90	74	90	90	90
Gareth Bale	90	90	83	90	90	90
Simon Church			7			27
James Collins					1	66
Ben Davies	90	90	90	90	90
James Chester	90	90	90	90	90	90
David Edwards	69	23	16
Chris Gunter	90	90	90	90	90	90
Wayne Hennessey		90	90	90	90	90
Andy King			14		12	90
Joe Ledley	21	67	76	63	78	58
Aaron Ramsey	88	90	90	90	89
Ashley Richards	2
Hal Robson-Kanu	19	72		35	80	63
Neil Taylor	90	90	90	90	90	90
Sam Vokes			90	55	10	32
Danny Ward	90
Ashley Williams	90	90	90	90	90	90
Jonathan Williams	71	18		27		66