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20th Jun 2016

Vladimir Putin is the butt of the jokes as Wales trounce Russia

Wales Wally

Simon Lloyd

Wales didn’t just make it to their first major tournament in over half a century, they got out of their group… as winners.

With England failing to break down a stuborn Slovakian defence in Saint Etienne, Wales were breezing past Russia in Toulouse.

Russia, a country over 800 times the size of little Wales. Russia, whose population of 144m people dwarfs Wales’ of a mere 3m. Russia, a country that’s hosting the World Cup in a couple of years…

3-0 it finished, with goals from Aaron Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Gareth Bale sealing Chris Coleman’s side’s passage into the last 16.

As well as savouring the moment, many a Welshman (with help from others) used the result as an opportunity to poke fun at Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

In winning the group, Wales will now face one of the third place finishers in the next round. England will face the second placed team in Group F – a group containing Iceland, Hungary, Austria and Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal.