Ergys Kace(Albania – Switzerland 0-1)

In their Euro debut, Albania couldn’t get past Switzerland who won thanks to an early headed goal by Fabian Schär, who made the most of keeper Etrit Berisha’s decision to leave his goal. Things became even harder for the Albanians, after their captain Lorik Cana was sent off on a second bookable offense in the 37th minute.

The Albanians didn’t give up though and fought until the last minute, but couldn’t avoid defeat. Ergys Kace was introduced in the encounter in the 63rd minute, he ran a lot, contributed in his team’s attacking deployment and covered for the numerical disadvantage. He was cautioned by the referee a few minutes after entering the pitch.

Róbert Mak(Wales – Slovakia 2-1)

Róbert Mak started in Slovakia’s encounter against Wales and was among his team’s best. He didn’t score, but was a source of danger for the “dragons’” defence. Gareth Bale netted the opener for Wales in the 10th minute with a direct free-kick. The Slovakians were in control of proceedings, especially in the second half, and had more chances to score. At the stroke of the hour, Mak charged from the right and teed up super sub Ondrej Duda who scored with his first touch of the ball.

The game was on fire, the Slovaks went for the winner, but Wales had lady luck on their side. In the 81st minute, substitute Hal Robson – Kanu fired a tricky shot that got deflected off Ján Ďurica’s foot and wrong-footed Matúš Kozáčik. Mak had the opportunity to become a hero in the 90th minute, but his volley went wide.

Their next fixtures

After these defeats, the two sides’s hopes of making it to the next round have been hampered considerably, but they still have two matches ahead of them. Albania face hosts France on Wednesday 15 June (22:00) and then play against Romania on Sunday 19 June (22:00) on the last matchday of the group stage. Slovakia take on Russia on Wednesday 15 June (16:00) and then face mighty England on Monday 20 June.