Friday, June 24, 2016

On Tuesday, in UEFA Euro 2016, Poland defeated Ukraine 1–0, Germany defeated Northern Ireland 1–0, Czech Republic lost 0–2 to Turkey and Croatia defeated Spain 2–1. Poland, Germany, Spain, and Croatia have all qualified for the Last 16 knockout phase.

After Poland drew 0–0 against Germany, Robert Lewandowski led them against Ukraine in their final group match. Two Ukrainian players were booked in the first half. Jakub B?aszczykowski scored the only goal of the game for the Poles in the 54th minute. Poland won 1–0 and advanced to the Last 16 knockout phase of the tournament by finishing second in the Group C table with 7 points. Ukraine finished last in the table and have been eliminated.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer led Germany against Northern Ireland. Mario Gomez scored the only goal of the match just before the half-hour mark as Germany won the game 1–0. Germany have qualified for the Last 16 round, finishing first in Group C table with 7 points — edging above Poland on goal difference.

Turkey struck early as Burak Y?lmaz found the net in the 10th minute. Ozan Tufan’s goal in the second half was enough for the Turks to claim three points and finish third in Group D. The Czech Republic were eliminated from the tournament, finishing last in the group table with one point.

Ivan Rakiti? faced his FC Barcelona teammate Andrés Iniesta as Croatia played Spain. Álvaro Morata scored an early goal for Spain in the 7th minute, providing the defending champions an early lead. But Nikola Kalini? scored a tap-in in the 45th minute to equalise for the Croats.

In the second half, Spain won a penalty, but Spanish captain Sergio Ramos’s kick was saved by Danijel Subaši?. In the 87th minute, Ivan Periši? scored the winning goal for Croatia, and they qualified for the Last 16 stage by finishing first in the Group D table. Croatia were undefeated in the group stage. Spain, second in Group D, also qualified for the knockout phase.