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MATCH THREAD: Group C - Germany vs Poland - KO 20:00 (ITV)

Who will win?

  • Germany

    Votes: 6 54.5%

  • Poland

    Votes: 2 18.2%

  • Draw

    Votes: 3 27.3%
  • Total voters
    11
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ijjysmith

ijjysmith

Calm
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Germany centre-back Mats Hummels could return from a calf problem, which would mean Shkodran Mustafi, who scored against Ukraine, drops to the bench.

Mario Gotze was ineffective as a false nine against the Ukrainians, so Germany coach Joachim Low may be tempted to instead select striker Mario Gomez.

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is ruled out after suffering a thigh injury.

Swansea's Lukasz Fabianski will replace him.

Poland's Robert Lewandowski knows a thing or two about getting the better of German defences, having been the Bundesliga's top scorer in two of the past three seasons. But if the Bayern Munich striker is to open his Euro 2016 account on Thursday he may have to outwit three club team-mates - goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and centre-backs Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels (the latter a recent addition to the Bayern ranks).

Lewandowski was effectively shackled by Northern Ireland in the Poles' opener. Of the 18 shots attempted by Poland, none came from Lewandowski. Instead it was strike partner Arkadiusz Milik who earned them a first European Championship win.

Ajax forward Milik netted six times in qualifying, including the opening goal in a 2-0 win against the Germans in October 2014. German defender Boateng admits "we have to be careful, they have good forwards - and not just Lewandowski."
 

A draw means Northern Ireland qualify for the knockout stages, correct?

Would be quite the story.
 
Neiziro said:
A draw means Northern Ireland qualify for the knockout stages, correct?

Would be quite the story.
Click to expand...
Almost certain qualification but not entirely no. Germany and Poland would be on four points respectively, with NI on three and Ukraine on one.

If Ukraine won and NI lost in the last game with enough of a swing to remove the +5 goal difference NI have on them, then they could go above.

Third place finish in the group stage isn't certain of qualification either (top four from the six), but you'd expect it to be enough in all fairness.

Or that's what I briefly worked out before when perusing the paper. On a side note though, this is going to be extremely feisty tonight!

No love lost between these two nations...
 



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