England - The Roaring Lions

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After the fifth match week of Euro 2016, there were wins for group favourites England, Slovenia and Finland.

To start the fifth match week of Euro 2016 in Group B, Group leaders England were to face San Marino, Finland were set to take on Greece and Slovenia were at home against Lithuania.

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A first England goal for Luke Shaw helped England brush past bottom of the group San Marino 5-0.


England got off to a flyer as Raheem Sterling was in space and measured up his angles before firing a low and hard shot towards Simoncini's near post and beat the San Marino goalkeeper to give England a well deserved lead.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 2-0 to England after he was played in by Phil Jones and the Arsenal winger slotted the ball with his side foot over Simoncini to double England's lead within the first 15 minutes.

Oxlade-Chamberlain got his second of the game two minutes after when he ran in from a Sterling cross and headed the ball towards the goal which eventually beat Simoncini to make it 3-0 England in a space of 17 first half minutes.

In the second half John Stones made it 4-0 as he headed the ball from a corner which bounced from the ground over Simoncini and made its way into the back of the net to make it 4-0 England just after half-time.

Then finally Luke Shaw scored a great half volley past Simoncini to score his first ever England goal and make it 5-0 England which keeps their undefeated record in the group and all but qualifies them for Euro 2016.

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Tim Väyrynen scored the only goal of the match to help Finland beat Greece 1-0 and gain more ground of England in 1st place.

In the first half Greece dominated Finland gaining over 65% possession and having numerous shots on target, with Mitroglou coming really close to giving Greece the lead as he forced a superb save out of Hradecky in the Finland goal.

Finland took the lead just before half-time when Tim Sparv played Tim Väyrynen who calmly slotted the ball underneath Karnezis to make it 1-0 to Finland going into the second half.

Greece continued to push on for an equaliser but Finland held firm and secured a vital three points to keep their chase for 1st place alive and like England, almost secure their place in Euro 2016.

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Miso Brecko aided Slovenia into beating Lithuania 1-0 and keeps their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016 alive.

Slovenia dominated Lithuania throughout the first half but they couldn't take the lead with their biggest chance falling to Matavz but he couldn't beat Karcemarkas in-between the Lithuanian posts.

However they took the lead in the second half when Jokic sent a lovely weighted pass forward to Brecko, and the Slovenian left-back showed how good he was at finishing as he chipped the ball over Karcemarkas to give Slovenia a well deserved lead.

Lithuania tried to get an equaliser before the end of the game and almost did but Handanovic saved his side from conceding late by stopping Sirgedas's shot which looked to be going into the bottom corner but Handanovic got a fingertip to the ball to win Slovenia the game.

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The England winger scored two great goals against San Marino and contributed to another goal. He was solid throughout and that is why he gets this award. His passing was spot on and he troubled the San Marino defence time and time again.

Nice win for Finland.

Good result there mate!

ONLY 5? I expected better from you, Josh

Just wanted to say I really enjoy this story! You are a fantastic writer and I am really liking what I see and will try to incorporate some of it into improving my own writing! It would be sad to see this come to and end but I can completely understand. Keep it up!

Alex Coxlade-Chamberlain does it again!

Shoulda put 10 past them. xD

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Adam Lallana and Leighton Baines helped England overcome a strong Greece challenge and secure yet another 3 points in Group B.

Hodgson's men went into this game still top of Group B with a big points difference to Finland in 2nd, however they had to prepare for the challenge of Greece who gave England a very good game in the reverse fixture.

Hodgson was to add some more experience into his midfield from the game against San Marino, with Michael Carrick odds on favourite to be put back in the starting eleven at the expense of James Ward-Prowse due to the Greek midfield being very energetic and Hodgson needing an experienced face in midfield to help the others keep hold of possession.

England XI vs Greece

(4-3-3)Hart; Walker, Cahill(c), Caulker, Baines; Jones, Carrick, Henderson; Lallana, Sterling, Welbeck.

Subs: McCarthy, Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Rooney, Jagielka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge.

Greece XI vs England

(4-5-1)Karnezis; Tzanakakis, Sokratis, Kyriakos, Stafylidis; Pliatsikas, Gentsoglou, Samaris, Fortounis, Lazaros; Mitroglou(c).

Subs: Nikos, Siovas, Manolas, Samaras, Vellios, Maniatis, Bougaidis.

Hodgson stuck by his word and named Michael Carrick in the starting eleven, alongside recalls for Caulker and Baines. Hodgson also decided to keep Danny Welbeck upfront even though Wayne Rooney has returned to the England camp after an injury.

As for Greece, they make just one change with Lazaros replacing Samaras just behind the striker as the Greek captain is suffering from illness but may recover to come off the subs bench in the second half.

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England kicked off and tried to keep the ball around the midfield area as much as possible, however Carrick was constantly being pressed by Samaris and Gentsoglou which un-eased Carrick but the Manchester United experienced midfield calmly passed forward towards Adam Lallana who allowed England to start making a passing rhythm.

Greece were trying to push up the pitch and win the ball eachtime England gained possession, and it worked well as Fortounis snatched the ball from Leighton Baines and drilled in a low cross towards the back-post where Mitroglou was waiting, who caused mayhem in the England defence in the reserve fixture, and the Fulham forward was close to giving Greece the lead but fired over the crossbar from 11 yards.

England wanted to push on forward quickly, and did so as Sterling passed to Henderson, who was given enough space to find Lallana on the oppopsite wing, Lallana cut inside and passed towards Danny Welbeck, who has been in very good form for his country currently, and the United forward was unlucky not to get another goal and his shot was superbly saved by Karnezis to deny England the lead.

However Greece couldn't hold on as Phil Jones won the ball off Pliatsikas and instantly found Sterling, Sterling had time and space to weigh up a pass to Adam Lallana who advanced into the box, and the Southampton captain ran in towards the moving ball and headed it down towards the ground and the ball bounced past Karnezis to give England the lead.


Adam Lallana gave his side the lead after he headed the ball past Karnezis in the Greek goal to make the game 1-0.

Greece tried to respond straight away as Mitroglou passed the ball to Samaris and sprinted up-field, and Samaris perfectly timed and weighted the ball over the England defence as Mitroglou broke the offside trap, got his first touch spot on and found himself one-on-one with Joe Hart, however the clinical striker wasn't clinical enough as he fired his shot straight at Joe Hart which was a huge chance wasted for Greece.

England kept the ball well and passed freely around the Greek midfield to kill seconds just before half-time, and eventually the referee blew his whistle to end the first half 1-0 to England which was cheered loudly by the England faithful, however the Greek fans were less than impressed and threw some items onto the pitch.

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Greece kicked off the second half and started to try and set the tempo, with Samaris being the key figure in their midfield as they put together a string of passes and started to build momentum. They came quite close to equalising straight away as Mitroglou gained possession and took a shot, which deflected off Baines and troubled Joe Hart, but the England number one was able to catch and hold the ball on his second attempt.

Greece were really imposing themselves as England struggled to get possession due to the high work-rate of the Greek midfielders. Greece created another chance as the ball bounced up infront of Fortounis, who struck the ball sweetly in the centre and flew towards the goal, it took a bounced just before Joe Hart but he was able to push it forward towards the feet of Gary Cahill.

Greece continued to push and a smart pass from Samaris put Mitroglou through on goal, he sprinted towards Joe Hart who stood up tall but the Manchester City keeper could do nothing about Mitroglou's shot and he smashed it low and hard into the bottom corner to level the game for Greece and make the England crowd uncomfortable and very nervous going into the last 25 minutes of the game.

However England responded well as Sterling did some great work down the right wing and got past Stafylidis and was able to move into the box, he cut inside and was ready to take a shot when Tzanakakis came sliding in and took out the Liverpool winger in wich the referee blew his whistle and pointed the the penalty spot.
Baines was on penalty duty now due to Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard retiring and smashed the penalty right in the top corner to put England back in the lead.


Leighton Baines is now England's main penalty taker as Steven Gerrard retired from international football.

England were able to keep possession and almost got a third as Welbeck came deep to collect the ball from Caulker, Welbeck turned and ran forward picking out Lallana, who looked up and saw the run of Henderson, Lallana picked out the midfield and he struck the ball on the half volley but it dipped down too late and the ball went behind for a Greek goal kick.

Greece tried to push on for an equaliser but the England defence held firm and eventually the referee blew his whistle to mark the end of the game with England winning 2-1 and taking yet another three points to fortify their position at the top of Group B.

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Roy Hodgson's Post Match Comments:

"The whole team played with confidence and understanding which is very pleasing. Greece played very well and you have to credit them when they were on the attack, but we showed just how good we are. I think we have qualified now but we will keep on trying to win each game."

Nooo.. Stevie </3

2014-04-29 20:55#172520 Pauker : Nooo.. Stevie </3

I know, it's sad

Replies

Bayern

It was! They've been over-performing in our group, and look set to qualify with me! Thanks for the comment!

TAT

Thanks very much!

Nick

We played a weaker side, so don't except too much from them Nick. Thanks for the comment aha!

mpejkrm

Wow thank you so much! I'm really happy you are enjoying the story, thank you for your kind words! Sorry about this stopping soon, but expect more stories from me in the future!

Justice

Yep! He's becoming a very good player for me now. Thanks for the comment!

Arvind

Maybe I should of, but hey, 5 ain't so bad right...? Thanks for the comment

this has the potential to be maybe the best ever story i have read i love it!

Very nice updates, you deserved the SOTM nomination I just saw that this is stopping, but I guess you have to do what you have to do.

Congrats on winning SOTM, Josh!!!!

Loved this story, such amazing detail and love the way it's written!

Story of the Month

How to start this, well, it's more or less in the title of this post, Story of the Month.. I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who has helped me achieve this award, it's absolutely inspiring to see comments telling me how good my work is, and for that, I thank you.

When this story first started, I never would have thought a month later I'd be in this situation, it's remarkable. This is the first story I've stuck to and seeing the reaction of many FM scout users I can clearly tell that people enjoy my work, which makes me want to keep on posting daily updates to keep my readers happy;

However, as I mentioned in a previous post, that won't be happening much longer;

You see, in around one week since I've posted this update, my GCSE exams would have began, and as much as I love this story, it'll have to go on hold as my exams are going to have a huge impact in my future life so I need to make sure I do as good as I can on them, so as I said before, this story will be on 'hold', 'standby'.. whatever you want to call it.

I cannot guarantee it will carry on, but I really hope it does..
and with that;

THANK YOU!