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When Euro 2016 was about to kick off in France it was a tournament that had never seen a Burnley player feature in the finals since the competition got underway in 1958.

That all changed in that 2016 tournament just after we’d won promotion back to the Premier League. on 18th June, Stephen Ward lined up for the Republic of Ireland for their group game against Belgium.

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Ward had missed the first game against Sweden but won his 34th cap as he became the first Burnley player to play in a Euro tournament. Ward lined up alongside future Burnley players Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady but were beaten 3-0 although a Brady goal against Italy ensured they qualifired for the knock out stage.

Sam Vokes was missing from the Wales team for their first two games but played the full ninety minutes against Russia two days after Ward’s appearance. The Welsh moved on in the competition and on 1st July joined Ward in making history when he scored a third goal for Wales as they came back from a goal down to beat Belgium 3-1 and move into the semi-finals where they were beaten by Portugal.

Today, at Hampden Park, two became three when Matěj Vydra came on as a substitute for the Czech Republic against Scotland at Hampden Park, replacing Slavia Prague’s Lukáš Masopust in the 72nd minute of their 2-0 win.

With no other Burnley player involved in the tournament, it will remain at three for some time although Vydra could still join Vokes and become the second Burnley player to score a goal in the finals of this tournament. They will again be at Hampden on Friday when they play Croatia before moving to Wembley for the game against England in eight days time.

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