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Russia 1-2 Slovakia: Hamsik the hero as Falcons hold on

The Napoli midfielder scored and assisted, with Vladimir Weiss also impressing, to earn his country a first win in the face of a late comeback from Leonid Slutsky's depleted side

Marek Hamsik was the star of the show as Slovakia beat Russia to leave Leonid Slutsky's side bottom of Group B.

After an uneventful opening 30 minutes, Vladimir Weiss broke the deadlock with Slovakia' first real chance. Running onto a fine pass from Hamsik, the winger made easy work of some slack defending to cut inside the penalty area and fire low across Igor Akinfeev.

It raised the tempo of the game and Russia could not cope.