Julian Draxler's Breakout Performance Highlights Germany's Strong Slovakia Win

World champions Germany announced their intentions at Euro 2016 with an impressive 3-0 win over Slovakia in the round of 16 in Lille, France, on Sunday.

There was a sense around the team that the tournament would only truly start in the knockout stage, and, if the performance against hopelessly overwhelmed Slovakia is any indication, Joachim Low's men have indeed kicked into another gear.

Germany's strong showing in the Stade Pierre Mauroy saw many players hit individual high notes but can be boiled to two men rising above everyone else: Jerome Boateng and Julian Draxler.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

An early goal from Boateng paved the way, with the Bayern Munich defender striking from distance in the eighth minute after a rebound off a corner fell to him. The 27-year-old ran toward the sideline in celebration, hugging and thanking the training staff who had made his inclusion in this match possible after he was forced off the pitch with a calf injury against Northern Ireland.

Boateng continued his personal tour de force in France with a majestic performance in all aspects of the game, even though his defensive prowess was hardly on display, simply because Slovakia failed to really test the World Cup holders.

He was heavily involved in Germany's play, as Raphael Honigstein detailed for ESPN FC:

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Boateng was once again a key player for Germany's buildup against the fourth defensive team they've come up against France, spraying 50-metre diagonal passes, mostly to left-back Jonas Hector, with ease and precision.

Boateng's long-range passing accuracy helped stretch the Slovakian back four, but also cut through Slovakia's first line of defence, the hard-working attacking trio of Kucka, Michael Duris and Vladimir Weiss.

Time and time again, Boateng found Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller or Draxler in space in front of the back four, to take half the opposition out of the game with one simple pass.

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With Boateng stringing together masterclass after masterclass at the Euros, it hasn't hurt Germany so far that Toni Kroos' performances have levelled off a bit after strong start to the tournament.

Opposition teams must feel it's unfair that Low has Boateng and Kroos at his disposal to crack their deep-sitting defences with seemingly laser-guided precision.

"Once again Low’s team dominated possession of the ball yet unlike other top teams in this tournament, they were able to use the ball to good effect in creating chances within the final third," tactics blogger Tom Payne noted on Spielverlagerung.com. "The circulation was dynamic and they were able to penetrate variable zones on the pitch whilst maintaining security in deeper positions against a Slovakian counter which had tested other teams."

Boateng has been his team's best player in France, but Draxler edged him for the man-of-the-match award on Sunday and deservedly so.

The Wolfsburg attacker was a bit of a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, having looked indecisive in his starts against Ukraine and Poland. Germany's attacking play was listing to the left in both matches, but the 22-year-old had failed to make much of an impact and was subsequently pushed to the bench in favour of Mario Gotze when Low decided to include a true centre-forward in Mario Gomez.

"In Lille, however, he was a revelation," Honigstein wrote. It was Draxler's breakout performance in a Germany shirt, easily the best of his 22 international matches to this point.

Slovakia simply had no answer for the former Schalke 04 player, whose strength in one-on-ones was on display again and again. With every completed dribble, confidence grew in the attacking midfielder, leading to one of the best assists of the tournament so far:

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Brilliant work from Julian Draxler before his assist for #ger's second goal vs. #svk: pic.twitter.com/QINh12JFiu

— FootballGIFs (@GIFsFootie) June 26, 2016"

"I encouraged him to play with courage and to play in the space," Low said after the game, per the German football association's official website. "He set up the second goal and scored the third. That was a result of his hard work in training."

For his goal, Draxler was the right man at the right time, with a deflected Mats Hummels header falling nicely for him. The 22-year-old still had to react quickly and did just that, making his good contact look effortless.

He chose a big stage and a good moment for his coming of age in the national team. Draxler, who debuted at the tender age of 18 in a warm-up match before Euro 2012 against Switzerland, had been a regular squad member since that tournament ended, but he missed a year's worth of international games due to a lengthy injury he suffered in the autumn of 2014.

Upon his return to Schalke's lineup, Draxler didn't look the same and seemingly fell down Low's pecking order, only making his return to the team in the friendly against France in November 2015, having moved to Wolfsburg in the meantime.

For the Wolves, he failed to truly replace Kevin De Bruyne—a task too big for a then-21-year-old, one would think—but still impressed in stretches, especially in the Champions League. 

It was still far from a slam dunk that he would make the 23-man squad for Euro 2016, but Marco Reus' injury problems and solid performances in warm-up matches and on the training ground eliminated those concerns. 

Sunday marked the first time he has really come good on his promise, that he has truly fulfilled his massive potential on the big stage. Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC rated his performance at nine out of 10 and noted:

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The surprise starter had a brilliant match going forward. He was very lively. Floated around the attacking line, started plays, was fantastic in the one-on-one situations. Set up Gomez for the second goal of the afternoon. Put Germany through with a stunning volley. The Wolfsburg man, however, needs to improve his work rate in defence.

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That last sentence is important. While Slovakia rarely advanced deep enough into Germany's half to create dangerous situations, the game could have been turned on its head with one big scoring chance. 

AC Milan's Juraj Kucka had the golden opportunity to equalise for his team three minutes from time in the opening period, connecting well with a Peter Pekarik cross, but Manuel Neuer proved once more why he's widely considered the best goalkeeper in the world with an astounding reaction save.

It was Draxler who had left a gaping hole on the left side of Germany's defence for Pekarik to exploit with a surprising lack of urgency in tracking back, as this video shows:

The chance that came out of the proverbial blue showed how fine the margins at a major international tournament can be, and Draxler's defensive laxity could prove far more costly in the coming rounds.

After all, it was only Slovakia on Sunday. That's not to take anything away from Germany's performance, which "was probably the best by any side in the tournament so far," as Jonathan Wilson wrote for Sports Illustrated. "There was coherence and drive, a familiar ruthlessness, but it was only against Slovakia, and a Slovakia playing poorly at that."

Low agreed with that sentiment, saying "it took us a while to get going in this tournament and today we were better," per Gabriele Marcotti for ESPN FC. "But I think, and I say this with great respect to our opponents, today is not an indication that suggests we'll dominate this tournament or even win it. We must continue to improve if we want to be in the conversation to become European champions."

Those words may well have been an attempt to manage expectations, however. Improving in every match in France and now finally scoring the goals to show for it, too, the world champions are automatic favourites.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist who also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.