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Liverpool midielder Joe Allen admits he’s living the dream at Euro 2016 as he looks to guide Wales into the last 16.

The 26-year-old is relishing his first experience of a major tournament ahead of Monday night’s final Group B clash with Russia in Toulouse and doesn’t want it to end.

Victory would ensure Chris Coleman’s side progress, while a draw would be good enough if England don’t lose to Slovakia.

“It’s what it’s all about. For me as a kid, watching the national team, that’s what I dreamed of,” Allen said.

“I dreamed of getting there. That was my ambition.

“It makes me hugely proud to have the chance to put on that shirt and represent my country and not only do that but to do it somewhere like at the Euros is a dream come true for me and I’m sure, if you asked all of the lads in the squad, they’d say a similar thing. We’re looking forward to a few more highs.”

Allen, whose future at Anfield is uncertain as he prepares to enter the final year of his current deal, has excelled in both group games so far.

The 2-1 triumph over Slovakia was followed by the heartache of conceding a late winner against England but Allen says Wales are ready to put that behind them.

“To go so close to getting a good result and then losing out so close to the final whistle is hard to take,” he added.

“It was very frustrating, but that’s football. Our focus is fully on our next game.

“The manager spoke about how he couldn’t fault our effort. Of course there’s things we know we could have done better and we will do better in our next game.

“As players we’ve enjoyed preparing for this game, working hard and we’ve got huge self-belief now that we can go out and perform.

“Russia are a threat in many ways, they’re a big footballing nation, but we are confident that if we do everything we’re capable of and give the sort of performance that we know we can then it’s a team we can overcome.

“We’re really happy with the position that we’re in at this stage and I think we’re going to use that to our advantage. It’ll certainly be a front-foot approach from us.”

Allen was in the crowd back in November 2003 when a 1-0 play-off defeat to Russia denied Wales a place at Euro 2004.

“It was something we all had to endure together in Welsh football,” he said.

“But we have come a long way since then and we’re confident we can maybe use those disappointments of the past in modern times.

“It would be huge (to reach the last 16). A couple of years ago, when we started this qualifying campaign, our one and only goal was to get here.

“Once that was done, we didn’t want to make it a case of just being tourists here. We wanted to make sure we give it absolutely everything to get as far as we can and make our country proud. To get through would be big.”