Poland reached the knockout stages of a European Championship for the first time as they finished second in Group C after a win over Ukraine. Arkadiusz Milik had a shot saved and Robert Lewandowski sent an effort over as Poland missed two early chances. Ukraine, who were already out, went close when Andriy Yarmolenko shot wide. Jakub Blaszczykowski curled in a left-foot shot for the winner after 54 minutes and Poland will now play Switzerland in the last 16 on Saturday. However, Bartosz Kapustka will miss the match in Saint-Etienne after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. A win by a bigger margin could have seen Poland leapfrog Germany, who beat Northern Ireland, to top the group but they rarely looked like adding to their lead.
And while they will celebrate their progress, they will also have concerns over the form of striker Lewandowski. He scored 42 goals for Bayern Munich in 2015-16 and was the top scorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with 13 goals. The 27-year-old was rightly regarded as Poland’s key man for the tournament, but has not had a shot on target in his three games so far – and is without a goal or assist in 523 minutes of European Championship finals action since a scoring against Greece at Euro 2012. Lewandowski should have ended that run early on when he was found by a right-wing cross only to sidefoot wide from eight yards, while he also produced some clever footwork before scuffing a shot wide.
Northern Ireland were beaten by world champions Germany but still advanced to the last 16 of Euro 2016 after the Czech Republic’s 2-0 defeat by Turkey. Germany wasted several chances before and after Mario Gomez scored the game’s only goal in Paris. The Czechs’ loss meant Northern Ireland go through as one of four best third-placed teams as they have a better record than Albania and Turkey. Michael O’Neill’s side will face Wales or hosts France in the last 16. Northern Ireland finished the group stage with three points, the same number as Albania and Turkey, but boast a better goal difference than their rivals. They have reached the knockout stages of a major tournament for just the third time in their history.
Despite losing, Northern Ireland’s fans were in boisterous mood as they stayed inside the Parc des Princes long after the final whistle. The players were given a rousing reception by the fans in green shirts who sang themselves hoarse from the start of the match. They looked in trouble early on when Germany – who win Group C ahead of Poland on goal difference – created a number of golden opportunities. But resolute defending, outstanding goalkeeping and a bit of luck saw NI’s defence breached on just the one occasion. O’Neill’s side would have suffered a heavier defeat but for the heroics of Michael McGovern. The keeper, who is out of contract after two years at Hamilton, pulled off a series of magnificent saves and has never conceded more than one goal in any of his 14 appearances for his country. But another fine record – Northern Ireland having let in just one first-half goal in their last 22 matches – did not survive at the Parc des Princes. Their resistance was broken by the recalled Gomez, who struck his 28th international goal, turning in Thomas Muller’s touch from 10 yards out.
Turkey kept alive their faint hopes of reaching the last 16 of Euro 2016 and eliminated the Czech Republic with a hard-fought victory in Lens. The result guarantees Northern Ireland go through, while Turkey must wait until Wednesday to learn their fate. A neat finish from Burak Yilmaz put them ahead, prompting Czech pressure which saw Tomas Sivok hit the post. Volkan Babacan made a string of saves before Ozan Tufan smashed in from 10 yards to move Turkey third in Group D. Fatih Terim’s side and Albania in Group A are vulnerable on three points and results on Wednesday could see a host of countries in Group E and Group F replace them to qualify as one of the best third-place finishers. Turkey had not scored in the tournament before Tuesday’s match, but they looked revitalised in northern France and knew that with each goal they scored, their goal difference and hopes of a continued stay improved.
They looked a lot more like the team who arrived at Euro 2016 with just one loss – to England – in 16 matches, and they bravely soaked up what the Czechs threw at them to inflict a defeat which could be the last action of Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech’s international career. Turkey would surely have taken these slim hopes of progress back in 2014, when a poor start to qualifying left dreams of appearing at the tournament in tatters. Terim – in his third spell in charge of the national side – changed eight of his starting XI between the beginning and end of qualifying and though his squad sneaked through, they had looked blunt in France until Yilmaz flicked home Emre Mor’s cross. Borussia Dortmund’s Mor – at just 18 years of age and with only a handful of appearances in Norwegian league football to his name – sums up Terim’s switch to youth.
Spain will play Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2016 after a late Croatia winner condemned them to second in Group D. Spain took the lead when Cesc Fabregas dinked the ball over keeper Danijel Subasic and Alvaro Morata tapped in. An Ivan Rakitic lob hit the woodwork for Croatia, who equalised when Nikola Kalinic turned in Ivan Perisic’s cross. Subasic saved a Sergio Ramos penalty and Perisic’s late winner gave Croatia, who finished top of the group, a tie against a third-placed qualifier. Perisic lashed in an 87th-minute shot in a thrilling match to inflict Spain’s first defeat in 15 games at the European Championship since losing to Portugal in Euro 2004. Croatia will now play on Saturday in Lens, while Spain’s mouth-watering tie against Italy – a repeat of the 2012 final – will take place on Monday in Paris. This was an eagerly anticipated game because of the quality at Croatia’s disposal and the type of test they were expected to give the reigning champions.
From that point of view, Croatia pressed and pushed further up than Spain’s previous opponents – Turkey and the Czech Republic – and, despite going behind, caused plenty of moments of uncertainty at the back for Vicente del Bosque’s side. Spain centre-back Ramos gave the ball away early on and Perisic had a shot palmed away by keeper David de Gea. De Gea was then dispossessed by Kalinic and the ball fell to Rakitic, whose chip hit the crossbar and the post before bouncing the wrong side of the post for Croatia. Spain again dominated possession but their resistance was finally broken when they conceded their first goal in 735 minutes at the Euros as Kalinic stole in front of Ramos to turn in Perisic’s left-wing cross. A weak punch from De Gea led to him having to save Tin Jedvaj’s shot before Marko Pjaca sent an overhead kick wide. Spain’s keeper and their defence looked vulnerable when exposed before they were caught out on the counter-attack, with Perisic’s strike beating De Gea at his near post.