Euro 2016 | Day 3: Germany emerge as early leaders, Croatia avenge 2008 defeat & Northern Ireland's underwhelming debut

Croatia lay the ghost of 2008 to rest

Boasting of one of the best midfield combinations, in Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, and Milan Badelj, in the tournament, Croatia have once again marked as the team to watch out for. However, coach Ante Cacic will hope that his team can be more clinical in front of the goal, when they face Czech Republic and Spain in their next outings.

It was perhaps understandable as well. It was their first appearance ever in the main stage of this competition, and their first appearance in a big tournament since the 1986 World Cup. There would have been nerves as the players walked out on the pitch of Allianz Riviera to take on Poland. Their opponents had scored more than double the number of goals in the qualifying, in fact, Robert Lewandowski had scored almost the same number of goals as Norther Ireland had managed in their campaign. However, their ultra-defensive approach in this match, led to a very underwhelming debut for them.

Michael O'Neill went into this match with three center backs, with Shane Ferguson and Conor McLaughlin dropping back to make it a 5-man defense when they did not have the ball—which was for most of the game. This approach meant Norther Ireland managed just two shots in the whole of the 90 minutes, and the game was there for Poland to win.   And they did so through Arkadiusz Milik's goal in the second half, and on the hindsight, they should have scored a lot more as well.

Germany get the job done against Ukraine, but chinks are visible

The German side has been ravaged with injuries in the build-up to the tournament. From Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan to Antonio Ruediger, all are out of contention. Even Mats Hummels was not fit enough to start against Ukraine. Except Draxler and Sane, who was on the bench, there is a lack of pace in the attack of the German team.

Ukraine were disappointing in the second half despite boasting of so much attacking talents in the team. They had just six shots, and perhaps gave the Germans more respect that they deserved. In the end, a counter-attack from a Ukraine's corner, lead to the second goal with Ozil setting up Bastian Schweinsteiger in the added time.

With a 2-0 win, Germany emerged as the early leaders of Group C, however, Joachim Low will have a few concerns to address before their next game. The defence, especially on the wide areas, looked vulnerable, while Draxler seems to be the only player with pace in the lineup he opted for in their opening game.