BBC and ITV Announce Euro 2016 Schedule for Televised Matches

The BBC and ITV have released the schedule for all of the televised matches of the Euro 2016 group stage, with the former broadcasting the highly anticipated match between neighbours England and Wales.  

Wales' opener against Slovakia will also be broadcast on the BBC, while England's two remaining group-stage matches against Russia and Slovakia will be shown on ITV.

The tournament opener between France and Romania on June 10 will be on ITV, and the final will be broadcast by both companies. Here's a look at the full schedule for the group stage:

Date	Match	Channel
Friday, 10 June	France v Romania	ITV
Saturday, 11 June	Albania v Switzerland	BBC
Saturday, 11 June	Wales v Slovakia	BBC
Saturday, 11 June	England v Russia	ITV
Sunday, 12 June	Turkey v Croatia	ITV
Sunday, 12 June	Poland v Northern Ireland	BBC
Sunday, 12 June	Germany v Ukraine	BBC
Monday, 13 June	Spain v Czech Republic	ITV
Monday, 13 June	Republic of Ireland v Sweden	BBC
Monday, 13 June	Belgium v Italy	BBC
Tuesday, 14 June	Austria v Hungary	ITV
Tuesday, 14 June	Portugal v Iceland	BBC
Wednesday, 15 June	Russia v Slovakia	BBC
Wednesday, 15 June	Romania v Switzerland	ITV
Wednesday, 15 June	France v Albania	ITV
Thursday, 16 June	England v Wales	BBC
Thursday, 16 June	Ukraine v Northern Ireland	ITV
Thursday, 16 June	Germany v Poland	ITV
Friday, 17 June	Italy v Sweden	ITV
Friday, 17 June	Czech Republic v Croatia	BBC
Friday, 17 June	Spain v Turkey	ITV
Saturday, 18 June	Belgium v Republic of Ireland	ITV
Saturday, 18 June	Iceland v Hungary	BBC
Saturday, 18 June	Portugal v Austria	BBC
Sunday, 19 June	Romania v Albania	BBC
Sunday, 19 June	Switzerland v France	BBC
Monday, 20 June	Russia v Wales	ITV
Monday, 20 June	Slovakia v England	ITV
Tuesday, 21 June	Northern Ireland v Germany	BBC
Tuesday, 21 June	Ukraine v Poland	BBC
Tuesday, 21 June	Croatia v Spain	ITV
Tuesday, 21 June	Czech Republic v Turkey	ITV
Wednesday, 22 June	Hungary v Portugal	BBC
Wednesday, 22 June	Iceland v Austria	BBC
Wednesday, 22 June	Italy v Republic of Ireland	ITV
Wednesday, 22 June	Sweden v Belgium	ITV

BBC Head of TV Sport Philip Bernie expressed his delight at the opportunity to broadcast the match between England and Wales, per the company's official website:

"

We are delighted to have the most talked about match of the draw in England v Wales, in such a special year for the home nations, as well as the opening matches for Wales and Northern Ireland on their return to major tournament football. We have a great selection of games that also include two matches featuring the world champions Germany and the opening games for some of the tournaments best players, including Gareth Bale, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"

While there will be a number of fantastic matchups during the group stage, the clash between rivals England and Wales has undoubtedly been the most talked-about so far. Per the tournament's official Twitter account, the two sides have met on many an occasion:

As one-sided as those statistics look, the Welsh team has come on strong in the past few years and boasts a talented squad, featuring the likes of Real Madrid's Gareth Bale and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey.

Wales currently sit in 17th place in the FIFA rankings, just eight spots behind England. They're considered the two top teams in Group B, although Russia will present a tricky challenge, and Slovakia shouldn't be underestimated, either.

The BBC will also broadcast the huge clash between Belgium, who lead the FIFA rankings, and Italy, who always seem to play their best during major tournaments. Northern Ireland's opener against Poland and the Republic of Ireland's opener against Sweden will also be shown on the BBC.

ITV will have first choice of the round of 16, while the BBC will have first and second choice of the quarter-finals. The first pick of the semi-finals will go to ITV.

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