Euro 2016 Results: Tuesday Group Scores, Highlights and Twitter Reaction
Tuesday's play at UEFA Euro 2016 featured Groups C and D, with places in the knockout phase on the line.
Germany and Poland secured their places in the round of 16 with wins on Tuesday, while Northern Ireland awaits their fate. That left Spain and Croatia battling for a first-place position in Group D, while the Czech Republic and Turkey were each gunning for a win to give them a chance to advance out of third place.
Below, we'll break down all of the day's action.
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Germany Beats Northern Ireland, 1-0
By every statistical and empirical measure, Germany absolutely dominated Northern Ireland on Tuesday in Group C play. When the final whistle blew, however, the Germans had just a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, clinching the group for Germany and ultimately resulting in Northern Ireland qualifying for the knockout phase as well.
Mario Gomez scored the game's lone goal, though the Germans were more interested in their clean sheet:
It was an interesting showing from Germany, as Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC noted:
After completely dominating the early proceedings, Germany got their first tally in the 29th minute. Mesut Ozil played a lovely through ball to Thomas Muller, who shielded his defender in the box and passed back to a wide-open Gomez. It was an easy finish from there for the forward, and he didn't miss, giving Germany the 1-0 lead.
It was a goal that was a long time coming, as Arlo White of NBC Sports noted:
Oliver Holt of the Daily Mail concurred:
It was Gomez's first goal in a competitive match for Germany since June 2012 against the Netherlands, per WhoScored.com, and it concluded a half that saw Germany hold an incredible 78 per cent of possession and outshoot Northern Ireland 14-1 (5-1 on target).
Despite Gomez's tally, however, it was Ozil who truly dominated the opening 45 minutes, per Squawka Football:
Within seven minutes of the second half starting, Mario Gotze had two brilliant chances to put Germany up by two goals. Joshua Kimmich played a fantastic diagonal ball to Gotze down the left side of the box, setting up the forward with a clear scoring chance. Goalkeeper Michael McGovern spurned him with a brilliant save at his near post, however.
Moments later, he got on the end of a low cross just in front of the goal but sent his sliding effort wide of the goal.
Neither side could find another goal from there. The victory clinched Group C for the Germans, while Northern Ireland's three points allowed them to advance as one of the third-place teams to move on to the knockout phase.
McGovern was probably the main reason for that, as Matt Dickinson of the Times noted:
Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph was equally impressed:
Northern Ireland would have been thrilled just to have taken three points from this tournament, and holding the powerful Germans to a solitary goal was no small task, either. No, however, the country has a chance to keep advancing, something few folks would have predicted at the beginning of this tournament.
For Germany, meanwhile, the win was business as usual, as they will take their top spot in the group and favorable matchup in the next round.
Poland Beats Ukraine, 1-0
Poland handled their business on Tuesday, defeating Ukraine 1-0 and guaranteeing themselves a place in the knockout phase, albeit as the runner-up in Group C, following Germany's win against Northern Ireland.
Jakub Blaszczykowski scored the game's lone goal in the second half, though the Polish could never quite find a second goal. Their inability to finish with more regularity may come back to bite them, and it certainly is keeping them from being a better side, as Iain Macintosh of ESPN FC suggested:
Poland should have had the lead within four minutes. Arkadiusz Milik played a perfect low cross to Robert Lewandowski in the box, and the Bayern Munich striker—and one of the world's most clinical finishers—had to just redirect the ball into the net. But somehow, Lewandowski got under the ball and sent it spinning over the goal.
Milik would get his assist early in the second half, however, as he found Blaszczykowski in the box following a corner. Blaszczykowski ripped a right-footed shot to the top left corner past goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, giving Poland the 1-0 lead.
Blaszczykowski has been arguably Poland's best player at this tournament, and he has certainly played a major role in the team's scoring, as OptaPaolo noted:
Poland had another golden opportunity just two minutes later, hitting Ukraine on the break. Lewandowski played Bartosz Kapustka into acres of space down the left side, but his left-footed shot hit the side netting at the near post.
From there, Poland managed to hold on, eliminating Ukraine from the tournament in the process. Because Germany finished group play with the better goal differential, they took the top placement in Group C, leaving Poland awaiting a tough matchup against Switzerland on June 25 in the round of 16.
Croatia Beat Spain, 2-1
In an absolutely stunning result, Croatia upset Spain, 2-1, and finished atop Group D. The loss for Spain, meanwhile, means the Spanish side will face Italy in the Round of 16.
Nikola Kalinic (45th minute) and Ivan Perisic (87th minute) were the heroes for Croatia, erasing the 1-0 lead Alvaro Morata provided for Spain just seven minutes into the contest. In the process, Spain gave themselves a potentially brutal path to the final, as Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC noted:
Delaney doesn't see a silver lining to Spain's performance on Tuesday:
Spain controlled much of the match, holding 64 percent of possession and outshooting Croatia 15-13 (Croatia held the advantage in shots on goal, however, 4-3), according to WhoScored.com.
And the Spanish got on the board first. David Silva played a brilliant through ball to Cesc Fabregas, completely taking several defenders out of the play. From there, Fabregas had to merely pass across the face of goal to Morata, who tapped home to give Spain the early lead.
That held for nearly the entire first half before Croatia equalised. Perisic blasted a low cross in the box to Kalinic, who flicked his foot on the ball and redirected it into the net.
Spain had the opportunity to take a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute, however, after Sime Vrsaljko was called for a questionable foul on Silva in the box. Sergio Ramos stepped up to take the penalty but was stymied by Danijel Subasic, who guessed correctly and parried the ball away to safety.
It turned out that Subasic received an excellent scouting report from his teammate, Luka Modric, who was on the bench.
"[Modric] told me to wait for Ramos and that he would kick it to my right-hand side, and that was true," Subasic said on the ESPN broadcast after the game.
Modric, of course, plays with Ramos at Real Madrid. At the Euros, it's always country before club.
That set up Perisic to be the hero in the 87th minute. Croatia hit Spain on the counter-attack, and Nikola Kalinic found Perisic in acres of space down the left side. Perisic had a bit of help, as his left-footed shot took the slightest of deflections from a Spanish defender before beating David De Gea at his near post.
Croatia's win not only gave them first place in Group D, it also means they'll avoid the half of the knockout bracket that includes Italy, France, Germany and England. Spain, of course, are not so lucky, and if they fail to win this tournament, Tuesday's result may very well be looked back upon as the reason why.
Turkey Beat Czech Republic, 2-0
Turkey gave themselves a chance to advance as a third-place finisher in Group D, beating the Czech Republic on Tuesday, 2-0.
Burak Yilmaz (10th minute) and Ozan Tufan (65th minute) were the heroes for Turkey, finally earning a result after two disappointing performances to open this tournament.
For Tufan, the goal ended a long international scoreless streak, per WhoScored.com:
Emre Mor set up the first goal for Turkey, hitting a low cross into the box for Yilmaz, who hit his half-volley to the near post past a helpless Petr Cech.
The Czechs nearly equalised in the 15th minute off a corner, but Tomas Sivok hit the left post with his header and Turkey quickly cleared the rebound.
From there, Tufan's goal in the 65th minute clinched the win for Turkey. Mehmet Topal found himself with the ball down the right side of the box—though replay indicated he may have been ever so slightly offside—and he played a short pass back to Tufan, who absolutely blistered his shot into the top right corner.
For Turkey, now, it's a waiting game, as they'll be hoping to qualify as a third-place finisher. The Czech Republic's tournament is over, meanwhile, after the country could only manage a single point in France.
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