Every match day during Euro 2016, The National's Premier League correspondent Greg Lea will break down every match and its key moments. Here is his analysis of Thursday's action in the tournament.
England 2-1 Wales: Late drama in British battle
Roy Hodgson is frequently labelled a conservative manager by his critics, but the former Liverpool cocach has been anything but during much of his tenure as England manager.
Hodgson has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to blood young players and try out new systems in the last few years, and his decision to send on Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge at half-time against Wales was further evidence of his propensity to take risks.
In the end the move paid off, Vardy and Sturridge both getting their names on the scoresheet to seal a vital three points for England after Wales had taken the lead through Gareth Bale in the first period.
Richard Jolly: Roy Hodgson's choice of Sturridge and Vardy will be remembered by England over time
It was a definite gamble from Hodgson, though, and England actually looked rather disjointed in a setup which featured three central strikers playing across the front line once Marcus Rashford had replaced Adam Lallana in the 73rd minute.
The England manager will probably need to devise a more sophisticated plan B going forward – simply throwing on a trio of centre-forwards may not work against stronger opposition – but he still deserves credit for the proactive steps he took against Wales.
Germany 0-0 Poland: Nawalka’s charges rue missed chances
This goalless draw almost certainly sends both Germany and Poland through to the knockout stage with one game left to play.
Poland coach Adam Nawalka will be delighted with both the performance and result, but perhaps he will also rue a couple of spurned opportunities that could have led to a famous victory.
Striker Arek Milik was most culpable, sending a header wide at the start of the second half and then completely missing his connection while in a wonderful position later on.
Poland were otherwise excellent, however, with world champions Germany made to look ponderous and in need of a cutting edge.
Mario Gotze was again ineffectual up top – although Mario Gomez did not fare much better either – while a significant question mark continues to hang over the Germans’ full-backs.
Ukraine 0-2 Northern Ireland: McAuley and McGinn seal famous win
The way Northern Ireland began their clash with Ukraine said everything about their mindset after a rather timid 1-0 defeat by Poland last time out.
Michael O’Neill’s side came flying out of the traps on the sound of the first whistle, pushing high up the pitch and aggressively hunting down Ukrainian players in possession.
While they barely ventured out of their own half against Poland, here they were brave, energetic and tenacious.
They played some good football at times, too, and fully deserved their victory by two clear goals.
Ukraine were extremely disappointing, but this game was all about Northern Ireland and a vast improvement on Sunday’s European Championship debut.
Still everything to play for
Teams in Groups A, B and C have now completed their second round of matches, with Ukraine the only nation eliminated so far.
The expansion of the European Championship to 24 sides means four of six third-placed outfits will advance to the round of 16 along with each group winner and runner-up.
As a result, there should be fewer dead rubbers in the final round of games; even Albania on zero points could go through in third spot in Group A, for instance, while a second consecutive loss for Czech Republic, Turkey, Belgium or Austria in the coming days would still keep them alive.
Day 8 previews: Sweden to 'play at 300 per cent' against Italy; Croatia rocked by tragedy
On the flip side, though, the system devised by Uefa is extremely messy, with fair play conduct and the country’s position in the governing body’s national team coefficient ranking system listed as tiebreakers if points, goal difference and goals scored are all equal.
Another disadvantage is that those vying for third in Group E – which contains Italy, Sweden, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland – will know exactly what result is required to secure their progression to the first knockout round because they complete their fixtures last.
The inclusion of eight additional countries has been positive in many senses, but the convoluted method of deciding which nations advance to the last 16 is a major downside.
Player of the day
Grzegorz Krychowiak was fantastic in the centre of Poland’s midfield, breaking up Germany’s forays forward before setting his own team on the attack with strong, driving runs up the pitch.
Goal of the day
Daniel Sturridge’s winning goal looked a little scruffy on first viewing, but replays show that Dele Alli actually did brilliantly to flick him the ball while falling over, before the Liverpool striker sorted his feet out just in time to poke it home.
Decision of the day
Northern Ireland’s move from a 3-5-1-1 formation to a 4-2-3-1 paid dividends, with Michael O’Neill’s side able to commit many more players to their attacking efforts as a result.
Howler of the day
It was not as costly as it might have been, but Joe Hart really should have dealt with Gareth Bale’s free-kick a whole lot better.
Statistic of the day
Northern Ireland had seven shots in the first half of their defeat of Ukraine, having only managed two in 90 minutes against Poland.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport