Group B - Match 3
England v Slovakia
Stade Geoffroy Guichard
St Etienne, France
20 June 2016
In the final Group Game England take on Slovakia in St Etienne. After saying good bye to Arras we are back on the train from Gare d' Arras to Gare du Nord in Paris (less than an hour), then a taxi across Paris to Gare de Lyon to get the 3 hour TGV to St-Etienne-Chateaucreux. Everything goes to plan and the trains are really comfortable
Kyle Walker is establishing himself as England's first choice Right Back and is playing in his first Euros after missing Euro 12 with a toe injury. Today he will get his 20th cap
Perhaps the easiest ticket to get hold of if you follow England as the stadium is good size larger than Lens and the appeal for this match isn't quite as high as the Welsh game but there will be plenty of English fans looking for spares
Stade Geoffroy Guichard is named after the founder of the Casino stores, head quartered in St Etienne. The stadium holds 42.000 and is built in the traditional English style, similar to Lens. It is nicknamed "Le Chaudron" (The Cauldron) or "l'enfer vert" (Green Hell). The stadium is no stranger to hosting big events, having been a stadium used to host the 1984 Euros, 1998 FIFA WC and now the 2016 Euros. During Euro 16 the stadium will host 3 Group Games: Portugal v Iceland, Czech Republic v Croatia and Slovakia v England. In the Round of 16 it would play host to Switzerland and Poland
Attendance: 39,051
Day 1 - Arrival. We were met by our AirBnB host Paul Sordet at 4 Rue du Coin, our home in St Etienne
A nice big Kitchen for Sue
Le AirBnB
Rue du Coin
The town has embraced the spirit of Euro 16
Place Jean Jaure's and St Charles Cathedral.
Looking towards Hotel de Ville
First beer at 'Les Artistes' on Place Jean Jaure's
Saint Etienne Fan Zone, Parc Francois Mitterand
Slovakians that we met in the 'Le Glasgow' restaurant
Day 2 - Exploring St Etienne
Grand' Eglise de St Etienne
La Comédie theatre, St Etienne
Parc - Muse'e de la Mine and St Etienne's mining heritage.
The Museum of Art and Industry is good value, with major exhibits in the history of bicycles, weaving, linen and arms.
History of bikes
Manufacture d'armes de St Etienne (MAS) was a French state owned arms manufacturer based in St Etienne.
An armourer's workshop at MAS. The town has been manufacturing swords since the Middle Ages, through to the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars.
After the museum we stop off
for a drink at the Slag Heaps.
Then onto the L'Escargot d'Or
for Sunday lunch and Pasties.
The Tram lines crossing point at Place de Peuple
Cheeky glass of red at the appartment
An evening out at 'Place Jean Jaures' which has been
decorated with St George's Crosses.
Cafe Jean Jaures has been re-decorated
Classic English football songs pumping out from Les Artistes
The party is in full swing
This Giant English Bulldog flag was last seen in Manaus 2014
Ladies and Gentleman, HM the Queen
Who can post the highest sticker game
Day 3 - Match Day. We start the day with a culture walk from the station at Chateaucreux Square to Place Jean Jaures
Sue bagging some Euro 16 livery
STAS Trams
The ilot Gruner building
Place Dourneyron -
War memorial 1914-18 and 1939-45
Liberte, Egalité, Fraternite
A pint of very strong beer at the Green Bottle
ASC St Etienne Expo at Place Jean Jaure -
Great story about the square goal posts at Hamden Park denying the French team their first European trophy.
Cathedral of Saint Charles Borromeo -
Place Jean Jaures
The atmosphere is building in Place Jean Jaures
England v Slovakia in 'Keepy Uppy'
Derby everywhere
Now its back to get changed and were off to the game.
Pre-Match party on Place Jean Jaures
Team photo
Deano, Sue, Tommo and a Geezer
Sue and Craig getting in the spirit
One of my favourite photos - front cover of the blog
Craig, Freddie and Deano; Sunderland's finest
Top Left
Team Hesketh
I've made it - that's 3/3 for the Group Games
The stadium has four stands with no corner stands
walking to our entrance behind the goal at gate L
England fans dominate the Henri Point stand
Behind the goal in Charles Paret Stand
Press and ViP in the Pierre Faurand Stand
The view is slightly obscured by the camera💩
Slovakian fans in the Jean Snella Stand
The Great Escape
Warming up
Hate this camera
National Anthems
England in the Charles Paret Stand (I'm just behind the goal)
The packed England end
Slovakian surfer flag
Joe Hart punches away under pressure. England register 29 shots on target to Slovakia's 4 but cant break the stalemate. Roy Hodgson's gamble of resting 6 players backfires as England finish Runners up to the Welsh in Group B and now face a tricky tie with Iceland in Nice.
A 0-0 draw and a trip to Nice as RU in Group B.
Not ideal, but at least Nice is nice.
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