Sunday action at Euro 2016 will consist of three games, with Joachim Low’s world champions Germany facing their first real test to prove they can build a dynasty.
Turkey v Croatia, Group D, 5pm, Bein Max 1-4
Croatia will seek to erase the bitter memories of their Euro 2008 failure against Turkey, described by key players as their most painful defeat ever, when they meet in this year’s Group D opener in Paris on Sunday.
The Croatians had one foot in the last four eight years ago, after taking a 1-0 lead in the final minute of extra time in an epic quarter-final clash in Vienna, only to concede with the last kick of the game before they lost in a penalty shootout.
Croatia have not reached the knockout stages of a major tournament since and defender Vedran Corluka, a survivor from the 2008 side, said navigating a tough group was more important than getting revenge.
“The bitter feeling of that loss can only be compensated by winning the European Championship,” the 30-year-old centre back told a news conference in the team’s Deauville base camp in northern France on Friday.
“It’s the distant past and not really in the focus of our preparations but we can push it further back in our minds and, more importantly, make the right start if we beat them at the Parc des Princes.”
Influential playmaker Luka Modric, who missed the opening penalty for Croatia in the 2008 shootout, added: “I cried like a baby that night, it was the biggest setback of my career.”
Turkey have failed to qualify for a major tournament since their impressive Euro 2008 campaign, having been knocked out in the 2012 European Championship playoffs after a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Croatia.
Poland v Northern Ireland, Group C, 8pm, Bein Max 1-4
Poland face a test of patience and their nerves when they open their Euro 2016 campaign against a Northern Ireland side who want to make themselves “horrible” to play against.
Sunday’s group C match will pit one of the most attack-minded of the 24 teams at Euro 2016 against a team who have made no bones about their intentions.
Spearheaded by the attacking duo of Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik, Poland were the highest-scoring team in the qualifying competition with 33 goals, 13 of them coming from Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski.
Manager Adam Nawalka has turned them from a counter-attacking side into one that keeps possession and build attacks carefully.
He has also bucked the trend of teams playing with a single, or no, striker, expressly to give Lewandowski more support, a tactic which has worked wonders so far.
The huge expectations back home, however, will put Poland under considerable pressure as they attempt to pass the group stage at the Euros for the first time, and Northern Ireland are just the team to play on their anxiety.
Northern Ireland have limited resources but manager Michael O’Neill clearly knows their place and makes no apologies for a playing style which is likely to prove a test of endurance for spectators as well as the opposition.
“We are going to have to be horrible to play against,” he said recently. “We are going to be really good without the ball, run further than any other team, drill all the statistics back in their face. Sixty-five per cent possession? We don’t expect to have that.”
Germany v Ukraine, Group C, 11pm, Bein Max 1-4
Germany’s defence will be put to the test in their opening Euro 2016 group match against Ukraine in Lille on Sunday with major questions still to be answered about the world champions’ new-look rearguard.
Coach Joachim Low’s team will be without key central defender Mats Hummels, still recovering from a muscle injury, as they kick off their Group C campaign.
Hummels’ replacement Antonio Ruediger was ruled out with torn cruciate knee ligaments this week.
Holding midfielder and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, still working on his comeback from injury, is also absent, further complicating Loew’s defensive conundrum.
Benedikt Hoewedes and Jerome Boateng are the two likely central defenders but both had a long injury break late in the season and are in desperate need of match practice.
The 20-year-old Jonathan Tah, who was only called up this week following Ruediger’s injury, is expected to be on the bench.
Toni Kroos, who will shoulder the biggest responsibility of connecting Germany’s defensive and attacking game, is brimming with confidence following his Uefa Champions League win with Real Madrid.
Assistant manager Thomas Schneider sounded confident on Friday that the team would quickly find their cohesion at the back.
“In the last few matches we thought a lot about our defensive operation and we came up with a few things, including for defensive set pieces,” he said. “We have worked on that in training and everyone knows their job.”
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