Robson-Kanu pilfers the points as Wales tops Slovakia
Wales marked its first ever European Championship match with a win courtesy of a late winner from second-half substitute Hal Robson-Kanu.
Poised to share the spoils with Slovakia on Saturday in Bordeaux, Robson-Kanu was the beneficiary of a probing run from Aaron Ramsey, with the Reading attacker scoring the winner in the 81st minute.
Related - Watch: Robson-Kanu bundles home go-ahead goal for Wales
One of football's biggest names, and a substitute trying to make a name for himself, each scored as Wales and Slovakia were locked at a goal a piece before Robson-Kanu snatched the three points for the Dragons with a 2-1 win.
Gareth Bale didn't wait long to put his imprint on Euro 2016, firing home a deft dipping free-kick from 35 yards out that mystified a lunging Matus Kozacik in the 10th minute.
Excuse Slovakian supporters if they were experiencing an unwelcome case of Deja Vu, as Bale opened his senior team account for Wales in 2006 with a free-kick against the Slovaks.
Related - Watch: Bale scores stupendous swirling free-kick in Wales' opener
Bale has now scored or assisted on ten of Wales' last 12 goals.
The opening stages of the match could have gone far differently for the Welsh, as Bale's dazzling dead-ball effort handed the debutants a lead that could have easily been a deficit were it not for another brilliant individual effort minutes earlier.
Ben Davies was the hero, as the Tottenham full-back's diving block kept Marek Hamsik from opening the scoring after a dizzying run sent the Napoli standout through on goal in the opening moments.
If the first half was controlled by Wales, the second half was a cagey affair that favoured Slovakia.
Like Bale, Ondrej Duda didn't wait long to have an impact, besting Danny Ward just moments after coming on to level the score at 1-1 in the 61st minute. It was just Duda's second senior goal for Slovakia.
It was the fastest goal scored by a substitute in the Euros (52 seconds) since 2004 and the last tally Wales has conceded in a major tournament since Pele bagged one against the Dragons in 1958.
Related - Watch: Davies times perfect block to rob Slovakia's Hamsik
Bale nearly potted a second in the 57th minute, and this time, Kozacik made a good account of himself, denying the Real Madrid star at the near post with a diving stop.
Full credit to Chris Coleman for getting his tactics spot on. A midfield of Ramsey, David Edwards, and Joe Allen bossed the better part of the match, with the latter two keeping their shape as the newly-blonde Arsenal man made marauding runs forward.
On the other side, despite a sluggish opening half, Jan Kozak's lot were dynamic in the second stanza, with Robert Mak and Juraj Kucka offering loads in attack.