Euro 2016 Day 3: As Predictable as Sunrise
By Tobi Nifesi
Sunday, in the Euros, was as predictable as sunrise. Germany and Poland, the contenders for the top two positions in Group C, started as they mean to go. In the first game of the day, Germany faced Ukraine in a match that seemed boring at times. The World Cup champions started well with a goal from Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi but over the course of the match, they got nervy and weren’t playing up to their potential. They let Ukraine take advantage of their ill state by creating several chances that could have and should have led to a goal but didn’t. In injury time, Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger calmed his countrymen’s nerves with a goal, following a counter attacking run. That sealed the win for Die Manschaff who will be hoping to show more dominance when they play against Poland on Thursday.
Poland will, however, be going into that game with some confident. They masterfully saw off a stubborn Northern Ireland team on Sunday. A sole goal from Arkadiusk Milik was enough to seal the win. They were good performances across the field from both sides but, as fate would have it, Poland emerged victorious. With that win, both Germany and Poland sit atop Group C.
The last game of the day saw Croatia go against Turkey. This game was almost as tight on the field as on paper. A good goal from Real Madrid’s Luka Modric did the job for the Croatian. Thanks to some poor performances from Turkey, they never really got back into the game. Luckily for them, the Croatians failed to make good of most of their chances otherwise we would have been discussing an embarrassing scoreline. Nevertheless, it was tight contest and probably the most enjoyable match of the day.
