A Battle of Britain in Lens  

This Thursday the eyes of England and Wales will be on Lens, France for a game that is huge for not just the players but the fans. This game is the first time that England and Wales have met in a football tournament ever and the stakes could not be higher for both teams with both needing the win and neither wanting to lose.

 With both opening games ending in different results for both sides with the Welsh dragons winning against Slovakia and England throwing a 1-0 lead to Russia in the last minute on paper England will baldly want to win this but Wales will also badly want this in terms of pride and history. From a sport perspective of England and Wales rivalry stems more form the Rugby pitch where the two sides play each other every year whereas the football sides haven’t played each other for five years with that being a 1-0 win to the Three Lions.

The Managers

For the Managers this is perhaps their biggest games as managers in their careers. For Chris Coleman who took over the project left by the late Gary Speed in 2012 this is a dream for him, since taking charge Coleman has slowly built a team and a unit that can beat anyone and isn’t afraid or intimidated by whoever is their opponent. Coleman has earnt huge praise from fellow countrymen Robbie Savage, John Hartson, Craig Bellamy and Ian Rush for being the man to finally get Wales to a tournament for the first time in 58 years which has been a long time coming for the Dragons.

With England manager Roy Hodgson this could be his defining moment as a manager. Hodgson has managed all round Europe including Inter Milan, he has had good spells and bad as England boss which is what it usually comes to with being in charge of the circus that is the England team. Hodgson has at times been accused of playing too defensive or boring then getting England key victories over Germany and France, Hodgson will also want this win if he is to get a new contract after this tournament with his current deal expiring after the Euro’s. Most England managers either shine or burn on the big occasion for Hodgson he will hope to shine.

The players 

Big matches normally require big players and in this one none get bigger then Wayne Rooney vs Gareth Bale. For Wales Gareth Bale is the man that makes everything happen if it wasn’t for him the Weslh wouldn’t perhaps be at the tournament. Bale has come on leaps and bounds since leaving Tottenham for Real Madrid for a world record £85m, he has won two Champions Leagues and one Copa Del Rey’s and one World Club cup. For Wales to win in Lens they will hope Bale has the game of his life and blitzes England from the right hand side which will be a handful for any England defender, Bale is a player for the big occasion and this game will be one he is licking his lips at the thought of. This could make him an icon for Welsh football forever if he produces the performance we usually see from him in Madrid.

On England side there are a lot of big game players but none stand out more then captain Wayne Rooney. For Rooney this is more then just a game for England it is the chance for him to to shine at a major tournament for the first time since bursting onto the scene at Euro 2004 at the age of 18. Since then pre tournament injuries and pressure have hampered Rooney at a major tournaments which have led to doubts from fans and pundits about whether he can cut it at another tournament. Rooney has always been a big game player for Manchester United and scored the goals that mattered, he has recently started playing a midfield role so don’t expect him to socre but expect him to be starting offences off with passes to Delli Ali, Adam Lallana or Rahem Sterling and expect him to link up with Eric Dier and maybe try and get a few tackles in on Bale to slow him down. If we see him on his game and focused Wayne Rooney can nearly guarantee an England win because nobody loves these occasions more then Rooney.

Why Both need to win and neither can afford to lose 

This will be a game that neither will want to lose as their coaches arrive at the stadium in Lens with the feeling of both countries in their hands will be going through their spines and minds as they warm up and go back to change and then walk on to the pitch and know that for 90 minutes the weight of their destines in this tournament will be defined by this match.

In terms of who needs the win more England need it to go top of the group but anything less then a win for England will not be accepted by England fans. The English press will absolutely hammer Roy Hodgson and his side if a win isn’t achieved so you can say that England have to only go for the win to not just get the press and fans off their back but also reinstate the fact that England is the dominant football nation of the British Isles.

For Wales they to will want the win a lot but might need it less because of their position in the group but don’t think that they won’t want this win more than England. For Wales they have as I said before waited a long time for this moment so they want that tournament defining moment, and what better moment it would be for them the to beat their neighbours who have looked down on them throughout footballing history because of them being at tournaments all the time and Wales just watching. Wales could easily play for a draw but most people including me don’t think for one second that Wales will do that, they will 100% play for the win and go for it.

Prediction: England victory.