Wales triples: Gareth Bale 3 for 3 as Russia dismissed 3-0

Gareth Bale scored for the third straight match to help Wales beat Russia 3-0 and qualify for the round of 16 in its first major tournament in 58 years.

Bale, whose two previous goals at the European Championship had come from free kicks, had several chances during the match and finally beat Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev in the 67th minute after being put through by Aaron Ramsey.

Ramsey scored Wales’ opening goal in the 11th minute when he beat the offside trap, ran onto a through ball from Joe Allen and lifted it over the onrushing goalkeeper.

With Russia needing a win to have any chance of progressing, it was forced to attack, leaving space for Wales to double its lead in the 20th as Neil Taylor scored his first international goal following a swift counterattack from Ramsey and Bale.

England 0, Slovakia 0: England qualified for the round of 16 at the European Championship despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Slovakia on Monday.

England dominated throughout against a very defensive and stubborn side but failed to convert a dozen chances.

Wales won Group B with six points, followed by England with five. With four points, Slovakia can still reach the knockout round as one of the four best third-place teams.