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The 2016 UEFA European Championships is being played across France from June 10 to July 10 for the first time with 24 nations across 10 venues in nine cities with the French capital Paris being the only city with two venues in the Stade de France and the Park de Prince.
The defending double champions are Spain, who are three time record champions along with Germany.
GROUP C – Matchday 3
Ukraine 0-1 (0-0) Poland
Poland beat the Ukraine 1-0, but the result does not tell the story of the game as the Ukraine remained goal and pointless in the tournament despite being better than Poland, who were lucky to walk away with the three points.
Poland had the first chances through Milik and Lewandowski, but thereafter it was the Ukraine who had tons of chances first through Zozulya and Yarmolenko, before referee Svein Oddvar Moen denied Yarmolenko a valid penalty in the 16th minute and only a minute later again Yarmolenko missed a good opportunity. Then it were a couple of chances for the Ukraine’s other star winger in Konoplyanka who missed and therefore it was goalless at the break.
The Ukraine continued were they left off, but Zinchenko also wasted a chance before Poland took a surprise lead when Milik found substitute Jakub Blaszczykowski and he scored the winner with a left-footer. And only two minutes later young Kapustka could have sealed the game, but he only finds the sidenetting.
The Ukraine thereafter had once again more of the game, but chances for Konoplyanka (63rd), Zinchenko (72nd), Zozulya (80th, 86th) and Rotan (82nd) were all wasted and it ended 1-0 in favour of Poland, who move into pre-quarterfinals behind Germany as the groups second best team.
Carlsberg Man of the Match: Ruslan Rotan (Ukraine) #UKRPOL
Northern Ireland 0-1 (0-1) Germany
FIFA World Cup winners Germany scored a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in a match which Die Mannschaft should have won by a much bigger margin, but after the criticism of no depth in attack against Poland, Germany showed against the Northern Irish that their attack can be a potent weapon.
Thomas Müller had the first chance of the game from a brilliant through ball but keeper Michael McGovern made his first of many saves today. Chances followed for Mesut Özil (11th) and Mario Götze (12th) before Müller wasted three in a row, first it went wide (23rd), then his header hit the post (27th) and another hit the crossbar (34th), with Müller remaining without a goal at the UEFA Euro’s.
In-between Germany’s winner came on the half hour mark. Youngster Joshua Kimmich played the ball to Mario Gomez in the centre, who played it on to Thomas Müller, who finding a way through the Northern Irish defence plays it back to Gomez and he puts the ball deservingly in the back of the net and it was Gomez who wasted another chance just before the breather as Germany took the slender lead into the break.
Things didn’t chance in the second session as first Götze was denied by McGovern in the 52nd minute and only a minute later he headed wide. Germany had less chances now, but still they had everything under control with Khedira’s shot just before the hour mark being palmed away by McGovern.
Northern Ireland did try to venture into the Germany half in the second session, but with no penetration at all, but Germany also slowed things down towards the end of the game but McGovern had to come into action one last time against Gomez.
It ended 1-0 in favour of Germany, a game which could have ended with five or six goals for the world champions.
Carlsberg Man of the Match: Mesut Özil (Germany) #NIRGER
