MOSCOW, June 6: Russia defeated Bulgaria 1-0 on Saturday in its final warm-up for the European Championship but there are concerns over experienced defender Fyodor Kudryashov, who suffered a pre-game injury.
Aleksandr Sobolev’s late penalty was enough for the home team to finish preparations with a win. Russia’s first game in the delayed Euro 2020 finals is against Belgium in St. Petersburg on June 12. The joint hosts then play Finland four days later before ending the group stage against Denmark on June 21.
Wales’ preparations ended with a scoreless draw against Albania in Cardiff. Visiting goalkeeper Gentian Selmani made a fine save to deny Neco Williams in the best chance of the game in the 74th minute. Gareth Bale came on for the last 20 minutes for Wales and tempers flared toward the end after a foul on another Wales substitute, Jonny Williams. There were no serious injury worries. Wales plays Switzerland on June 12, then Turkey and Italy.
Substitute Marcus Berg scored late as Sweden enjoyed an encouraging 3-1 win over Armenia in Solna. Emil Forsberg got the home side off to a good start with a free kick that seemed to deceive David Yurchenko in the Armenia goal before defender Marcus Danielson headed Sweden’s second goal in the 34th. Yurchenko atoned for Forsberg’s opener by saving a penalty from Sebastian Larsson, and Vahan Bichakhchyan pulled one back in the 63rd for the visitors. But Berg chipped the ball over Yurchenko to seal the win. Sweden is in Group E with Spain, Poland and Slovakia.
England wrapped up their preparations for Euro 2020 with a narrow 1-0 win over Romania at The Riverside. Gareth Southgate made ten changes from the victory over Austria with a number of players on the fringe of his squad given a run out. The hosts earned a chance for the lead in the second half when Jack Grealish was brought down in the box. Rashford stepped up and calmly slotted into the bottom corner. (AP)
