B is for the Battle of Britain as England and Wales prepare to lock horns on the European stage. B is also for beginners with both the latter and Slovakia having never played in this tournament before.

The fourth side to make up Group B is Russia, who last met England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers when they beat them to second spot by one point and denied them a place at Austria and Switzerland.

Could this be the year England make it beyond the quarter-finals on penalties? They haven't done it in a major tournament since Euro 1996 and on the 20th anniversary they are showing signs of being a real threat this summer.

Regardless of who progresses, however, they will be looking to avoid doing so in third place because it could set them up with a last 16 clash against Spain.

June 16, 5pm: England v Wales

The British neighbours go head-to-head in their second group fixture at Lens' Stade Bollaert-Delelis, five years on from when they last met in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

England comfortably defeated Wales twice during their road to Poland and Ukraine but both sides have come far since then.

With many of the players already being familiar with each other and their style of play it has the making of a tense and exciting affair. It could also go a long way in deciding who progresses from the group ahead of their final clashes four days later.

After so many underwhelming campaigns, England go into this one quietly confident and genuinely believing they can make a mark.

The golden generation may have come and gone without covering themselves in much glory on the world or European stage but the new crop of youngsters are being selected on merit, not reputation.

With the likes of Dele Alli, Ross Barkley and Eric Dier in the squad they're an exciting and uninhibited side. The stage is almost set for the likes of Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford to round off a dream couple of months in style.

Roy Hodgson's side stormed through the qualifiers, scoring the second highest number of goals (31), conceding the least (three) and finishing as the only team with a 100% record.

Their easy route to France also allowed him to experiment with his players and a number of different systems which could stand them in good stead, but in saying that, they've cruised through the qualifiers before failing to make their mark at the main show.

England's journey so far may prove to be another false dawn but nonetheless they will be looking to reach the quarter-finals at the very least.

For the fourth time running Russia will take their place in the European Championships and they are not to be taken lightly.

Their road to France wasn't straight forward and they would have struggled without the three points awarded to them against Montenegro when the game was abandoned for crowd trouble. Leonid Slutsky's appointment sparked a winning streak and there's a sense of optimism going into this campaign.

The CSKA Moscow boss agreed to come on board free of charge and juggle it alongside his club duties until the end of the tournament but will have to make a decision over where his future lies after the summer.

He has an ageing side with limited options, especially in central defence where 36-year old Sergei Ignashevich and 33-year old Vadili Berezutski are expected to play. He's also without creative midfielder Alan Dzagoev who was a late withdrawal, so any success will be down to experience rather than individual stars.

Having never played naturalised players before this year, Russia have included Brazilian-born keeper Guilherme and German defender Roman Neustädter for the trip to France. The decision to cap the former in March didn't come without controversy though.

With the exception of the Schalke man, Slutsky's squad all play in Russia with the majority coming from CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg.

European Championship new boys Slovakia have only had one stint at a major tournament and that was at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

They've been paired with their 2018 qualifying opponents England so it may give them - and Scotland - an early indication as to how that campaign will unfold.

Slovakia go into this tournament with little expectations and nothing to lose but won't be an easy side to brush aside.

They ended Spain's eight-year run, that spanned over 37 games, of defeat-free qualifying campaigns when they won 2-1 and despite letting their standards slip towards the end, they beat world champions Germany 3-1 in a warm-up friendly last month.

Jan Kozak, who recently signed a contract extension until November 2017, has a thin squad to choose from so injuries could prove problematic. They're quick down the flanks (look out for right-sided Mak) but lack established fullbacks and impact subs.

Napoli's Marek Hamsik is the one to watch but the playmaker may have too much pressure on his shoulders to carry his side through on his own.

Like Slovakia, Wales are newcomers to this tournament but it's not just the Gareth Bale show. He may be the main man and the household name but he came through the youth ranks with many of the squad and that's helped them build a formidable team unit.

They have energy in the form of Joe Ledley, who remarkably made the squad less than a month after breaking his leg, and quality through the spine in Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey.

Chris Coleman likes to play three in defence which allows them room to make use of the flanks and it's been a tactic which has proved to frustrate a lot of good teams.

Belgium couldn't score against them in either game during the qualifiers and neither could Israel. In fact, Coleman's organised side conceded just four goals across the 10 games.

The rise of this golden generation has been a hot topic, but with their first appearance at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, this is finally their chance to show Europe how good they can be.