Russia score late to earn draw with England

Russia scored in stoppage time to stun England and earn a 1-1 draw in their European Championship opener in Group B at Marseille's Stade Velodrome.

Vasili Berezutski's goal cancelled out Eric Dier's second-half free kick and ruined England's hopes of finally opening the competition with a victory.

England, with Wayne Rooney in midfield, adopted a positive approach and had a number of scoring chances in the first half, but they could not beat Russia keeper Igor Akinfeev.

England's bright start and weak finish meant they were forced to settle for a draw vs. Russia in their Euro opener.

Russia showed signs of improvement in the second half, and Gary Cahill needed to make a fine challenge after a pass across goal from Aleksandr Kokorin early on.

England were in control, though, and Wayne Rooney nearly gave them the lead on 71 minutes when Danny Rose's low cross deflected into his path inside the area, but Akinfeev was able to divert his shot onto the crossbar. Adam Lallana struck the post with the follow-up but was flagged offside.

Roy Hodgson waited until late to make changes, trusting his side to finish the job, but it didn't pan out.

They did not have to wait long, though. England were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area for a foul on Dele Alli, and Dier unexpectedly stepped up to smash the ball past Akinfeev.

But out of nothing, Russia forced a corner and Georgy Schennikov sent in a cross that Berezutski headed over stranded goalkeeper Joe Hart in the 92nd minute to salvage a point.

Wales 2-1 Slovakia: Hal Robson-Kanu scores late winner to help his side claim victory

• Real Madrid superstar star Gareth Bale netted the opening goal of the match after just 10 minutes
• Jonny Williams should have been awarded a penalty when he was bundled over by Martin Skrtel
• Slovakia substitute Ondrej Duda levelled the scoreline in the 61st minute to help his side get back onto level terms
• Hal Robson-Kanu, who is currently without a club having been released by Reading, hit the winner in 81st minute

Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey (left) closes down Hamsik (right) during the first half of the match at the European Championship in France

Granit and Taulant Xhaka go head to head at Euro 2016... as their mother wears a half-and-half Switzerland-Albania shirt

• This Euro 2016 tie saw Granit and Taulant Xhaka face each other in Lens
• Arsenal's Granit plays for Switzerland while Tauland plays for Albania

Elmaze Xhaka, the mother of Granit and Taulant, showed her support for both Albania and Switzerland by wearing a half-and-half shirt in stands at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens.

The Xhaka brothers went up against each other at Euro 2016 ‒ Granit for Switzerland and Tauland for Albania ‒ as they got their tournament's under way.

Arsenal's new £35million signing, Granit, represents Switzerland after being born and growing up there, while his older brother bears the colours of his family's Albanian heritage

Granit Xhaka's girlfriend Leonita Lekaj pictured sat in the stands before the match alongside the mother of the Xhaka brothers, who wore a half-and-half Switzerland-Albania shirt

The Xhaka brothers pictured after their Euro 2016 encounter on Saturday in Lens

MAN OF THE MATCH : GRANIT XHAKA {Switzerland}

Olivier Giroud calls on boo boys to back him after France striker continued scoring streak in Euro 2016 victory over Romania

• Giroud was jeered off the pitch by France fans in a recent friendly
• Arsenal striker opened the scoring in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania
• He has scored eight goals in last last eight games for the national team

Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away.

The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team.

Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didier Deschamps took over as coach in 2012.

UE2016 : England Russia seri | Switzerland, Wales permulaan baik...

MOTM : ERIC DIER {ENGLAND)

Granit Xhaka impressed for Switzerland in a game that saw him face brother Taulant.

MOTM : GRANIT XHAKA (SWITZERLAND)

MOTM : JOE ALLEN (WALES)

Hat-trick hero Messi happy to be back

Argentina captain Lionel Messi returned from a back injury to score three goals in 30 minutes against Panama in Group D on Friday.

Lionel Messi was very happy to make his return from injury with a second-half hat trick, though the Argentina captain was quick to praise his teammates as they advanced to the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals.

After sitting out as an unused substituted in Argentina's opening win over the defending champion last week due to a niggling back problem, Messi made a breathtaking return to the pitch, scoring three goals in 30 minutes to inspire Friday's 5-0 rout of 10-man Panama in Chicago.

The 28-year-old skipper, whose hat trick was highlighted by a stunning 78th-minute free kick now has 53 internationals goals to his name, closing to within three of Argentina's all-time record.

Speaking after the Group D encounter at Soldier Field, man-of-the-match Messi said: "I am grateful for all this support. It was great to be here, especially because of the public. I am very grateful.

"I lost the pain gradually. Then, I managed to make my first goal. It was a team effort, in a tense game, with very tall grass, dry. It was tricky, but we got where we wanted."

Argentina has two wins from as many matches as the 14-time Copa America champion looks to end the 23-year wait for a major title, following the penalty shootout loss to Chile in last year's tournament.

Messi, who scored within eight minutes of introduction in the 68th minute, continued: "We are doing a good job, growing little by little. By winning the first two games, it is very good."

Chile tops Bolivia on controversial last-gasp penalty kick

Chile and Bolivia's Copa America Group C battle devolved in to chaos Friday night, with Arturo Vidal's 100th-minute penalty after a controversial call the decisive strike in a 2-1 win for La Roja.

Vidal scored twice, sandwiching a remarkable free-kick strike from Bolivia's Jhasmani Campos to account for the scoring. The latter stages of the match also saw Bolivia's Ronald Eguino take a bicycle kick directly to the head from Eduardo Vargas. It appeared that Eguino was knocked out, perhaps even before he crashed into the ground, yet Bolivia sent him back into the match moments later.

The game, which was controlled by Chile, went into halftime at 0-0, but it didn't take long for action to pick up. Chile took the lead through Vidal in the 46th minute with him working a combination with Mauricio Pinilla before finishing from the center of the box.

Bolivia answered soon after, and in spectacular fashion. Campos, just into the game in the 58th minute, bent a phenomenal free kick from distance by Claudio Bravo and into the upper left-hand corner of the next to equalize in the 61st.

Chaos ensued after Luis Gutierrez was whistled for a handball deep into stoppage time. It appeared that the assistant referee was the one who made the call, but it also appeared that Gutierrez had tucked his arm behind his back and the ball hit off his shoulder. No matter, Vidal stepped up and converted the penalty to secure the three points for Chile.