Russia 1 - 2 Slovakia

The Napoli midfielder's measured pass set up Vladimir Weiss, who cut inside and side-footed Slovakia ahead.

Hamsik then spectacularly doubled the lead, receiving a short corner out wide before firing a shot in off the post.

Russia face disqualification if their fans misbehave inside stadiums and a flare was seen among their supporters when Denis Glushakov headed in late on.

That appeared to be the only issue for authorities inside Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy, in contrast to last week's scenes in Marseille's Stade Velodrome, where Russian fans charged into a section for England supporters after the final whistle in the draw between the two countries.

Russia will now almost certainly need to beat Wales on Monday if they are to stand any chance of progress, while Slovakia know victory over England will see them through.

'Hamsik ready for a very big club'

Slovakia's defensive effort as Russia applied pressure late on was admirable, but without Hamsik it is hard to see Jan Kozak's side creating opportunities.

"He has matured as a person and as a player at Napoli - he is ready to play for a very big club," said Slovakia coach Jan Kozak of Hamsik afterwards.

Hamsik is one of only two players in the Slovakia squad with more than 10 international goals - and just as in their opening defeat by Wales, he had more touches than any of his team-mates.

This time his touches were more telling as he found positions to have five shots, made more passes than any of his team-mates and won possession 12 times.

The ball to free Weiss took advantage of Russia's early positivity. Right-back Igor Smolnikov had continuously joined attacks and his poor positioning saw Hamsik curl a pass into space from deep.

Weiss, who plays for Qatari club Al-Gharafa, easily evaded two challenges before becoming the first player from a non-European club to score at a European Championship.

If his finish was composed, Hamsik's was an exhibition of power as his effort flew across goal to cannon off the upright and back across the goalline into the bottom corner.

More Russian troubles

Slovakia go into their final game with one loss in their past 10 matches, while Russia have had just one win in seven before their meeting with Wales in Toulouse.

Manager Leonid Slutsky - at 45, the youngest at Euro 2016 - looked distraught as he sat on his bench in silence after the final whistle.

The momentum he gave their qualifying campaign after succeeding the sacked Fabio Capello has seemingly been lost, and his double role as CSKA Moscow boss and national manager looks unlikely to continue if Russia exit at the group stage.

Though they went close when Fedor Smolov's long-range shot went inches wide early on, all too often their play looked mechanical and devoid of flair in the final third.

Glushakov only came on at the break but the Spartak Moscow player made a difference, completing 97% of his passes and heading in Oleg Shatov's pinpoint late cross.

A wayward Glushakov effort from 18 yards - one of 13 Russia attempts to miss the target - proved the final action and what has already been a difficult tournament for the nation now looks likely to end in disappointment on the pitch.

What they said...

Russia coach Leonid Slutsky on whether he picked the wrong line-up: " I wouldn't say that because if the plan we had at the beginning had been executed, and if we had scored the first goal, it would have been a different game. After we went behind, we had to change our plan, especially the system in midfield."

Slovakia coach Jan Kozak: "The match was very close and tense; nobody wanted to open up space and concede. At half-time we said it was only 2-0, we had things under control for a time, but we got tired. The last 10 minutes seemed to last a very long time."

(BBC)