Poland vs Russia

Poland 1-1 Russia: Stunning Blaszczykowski equaliser keeps co-hosts alive in Group A Smuda's can still advance to the quarter-finals after the Dortmund man cancelled out Dzagoev's first-half effort with a beautiful strike Jakub Blaszczykowski's spectacular strike helped Poland secure a 1-1 draw against Russia in Group A action on Tuesday, which leaves all four teams with a chance of qualifying for the last eight. The co-hosts had some excellent chances in the first-half but found themselves 1-0 down at the break. Alan Dzagoev netted his third goal of the tournament when he diverted Andrey Arshavin's precise free-kick beyond Przemyslaw Tyton. The goal gave the Russian's confidence but they were dragged back by Blaszczykowski's magic after a lethal counterattack from the Poles sent the home fans into ecstasy. Russia showed greater composure early on with Arshavin continuing his fine form. Urged on by their supporters, however, Poland got a foothold in the game and fashioned the first opportunity. Ludovic Obraniak swung an inviting free-kick into the area which Sebastian Boenisch was on the end of, but the Bremen man was denied by Vyacheslav Malafeev whose sprawling legs kept the score level. Poland continued to pour it on and Robert Lewandowski looked to add to his Euro 2012 tally with the opening strike. The Dortmund striker, full of confidence, took the ball down before unleashing a volley towards goal that was narrowly off target. In response Dick Advocaat's side looked to thread the ball through a static Polish defence and Aleksandr Kerzhakov thought he had won a penalty when Damien Perquis slid in from behind but the defender had expertly clipped the ball away from the Zenit striker. The noise levels increased ten-fold when Eugen Polanski finished a beautiful flowing move from the co-hosts only for his celebrations to be cut short when he noticed that he had correctly been judged offside. Franciszek Smuda's side continued to create chances as Marcin Wasilewski drove in a low cross only for the ball to squirm away from both Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski with the goal beckoning. Replicating the driven cross from Wasilweski, Kerzhakov delivered the same for Russia only to see the ball flash across the face of the goal with no decisive touch. With the visitors enjoying their best spell of the game they took the lead when Dzagoev flicked home his third goal of the tournament. Arshavin's perfectly flighted free-kick found the youngster unmarked and he provided the touch that sent the Russia fans into raptures. Poland looked to find an equaliser in the remaining eight minutes of the half and Malafeev had to be alert to palm away Blaszczykowski's drive. And the home side started the second half in attacking mode as Polanski looked to the slide the ball through to Lewandowski but the pass was too heavy and the striker had to settle for a corner kick. Poland continued to probe and launched a superb counterattack which ended when Obraniak's delicious cross was punched clear by Malafeev with Lewandowski's boot close by. Russia suddenly found their attacking desire as Arshavin rode a challenge to burst forward before wasting a glorious opportunity misplacing his pass with Russia a man up on the attack. And seconds later Poland launched their own counter as Lukasz Piszczek looked to link-up with his club team-mate. The full-back found Blaszczykowski with a wonderful pass, and the Dortmund man's first-touch was simply sublime before unleashing a vicious left-footed shot which caused Warsaw to erupt as it flashed past Malafeev to bring Poland level. The atmosphere in the stadium intensified and Malafeev was called upon yet again for the Russians as Poland searched for a second. The keeper stood tall at his near post to deny Polanski's low shot that had been hit with some conviction albeit from a tight angle. As the value of a winner increased as each minute passed neither side was able to find a telling moment in the final exchanges. The result leaves Russia at the summit of Group A with four points, while the co-hosts are third with two after Czech Republic defeated Greece. Poland will need to win their final game to progress, while Russia need a point against Greece to secure a quarter-final birth.

Greece vs Czech Rep.

Greece 1-2 Czech Republic: Cech gets away with blunder thanks to early surge Fernando Santos' men now have an uphill task to qualify for the next stage of the tournament as they fell victims to two defensive mistakes in the early minutes of the game Czech Republic put Greece on the brink of elimination from Group A of Euro 2012 after a 2-1 victory over the Ethniki at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw. Michal Bilek's men hit the Galanolefki with a first-half double through Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar, and it looked as though the Narodak had done enough to emerge winners. After the break, however, a howler from Petr Cech allowed Theofanis Gekas to claw one back and set up a tense finish. But the Czechs hung on and claimed an important victory in their quest for a place in the quarter-finals. The game got off to the worst possible start for Greece after conceding two goals in less than six minutes. The makeshift defensive pairing of Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Kostas Katsouranis was struggling right from the off, and the Czech Republic pounced with venom. First, Tomas Hubschman exploited the space between the two central defenders to pick out Jiracek just outside the box, and the Wolfsburg midfielder slotted home easily under little pressure from the Greek rear guard. Then, three minutes later, Theodor Gebre Selassie showed Jose Holebas a clean set of heels on the right wing before whipping in a cross, which was rather fortunately met by the feet of Pilar, who netted his second goal in as many matches. Greece managed to shake off the early shock, but were soon dealt yet another blow as first-choice goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Michalis Sifakis. Still, with the Czechs taking their foot off the gas, Fernando Santos' men began to gather momentum. In the 40th minute, Greece had the ball in the net as Giorgos Fotakis finished past Cech with a skilful header, following a cross from the right flank by Vasilis Torosidis, but the assistant referee deemed it as offside. The pressure continued after the break as Bilek's men were dominating the proceedings, allowing Greece chances only on the break. Out of nowhere, however, the Ethniki managed to score following a horrible error by Cech. A stray cross by Georgios Samaras was inexplicably dropped by the goalkeeper straight into the path of Gekas, who had no trouble converting with the open goal at his mercy, halving Greece's deficit and giving them a way back in the game. The goal gave Fernando Santos' men some much-needed momentum and the Czechs soon found themselves pinned back in their own half. Greece bombarded the penalty area with crosses, but Bilek's players were doing their best to hold onto their lead. The Ethniki threw everything forward in the final minutes of the game, but were ultimately denied an equaliser by their resilient opponents, who claimed a crucial victory in their battle for a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

Ukraine vs Sweden

Ukraine 2-1 Sweden: Shevchenko double hands co-hosts dream start Oleg Blokhin's side started the tournament in style after their heroic striker stunned the Scandinavians with two quick goals following Zlatan's Ibrahimovic's opener Andriy Shevchenko notched a superb quick-fire double to fire Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine to a 2-1 victory over Sweden in Kiev on Monday. Oleg Blokhin’s men dominated possession early on but Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Sweden the lead shortly after the break, scoring from close range while Ukraine had a player down injured. But two goals in seven minutes from Shevchenko turned his side's fortunes around and gave them a win in their first ever European Championship finals to top the group. It was a cagey start synonymous with many of the opening fixtures, and no real chances were fashioned in the opening 15 minutes. The Olimpiyskyi was a sea of yellow and the crowd was making its own entertainment with a tremendous atmosphere as both sides cautiously felt their way into the match. Ibrahimovic was an early aerial target from set-pieces but the Scandinavians were having no joy, before the AC Milan forward found space on the right-hand side of the box, curling a dangerous ball towards the far post which Andreas Isaksson parried away. But it was the co-hosts who were enjoying the lion’s share of possession. Shevchenko nearly sent the crowd into delirium when he was found in the area, but Ukraine’s talismanic striker skewed his shot well wide of the far post after being forced out to an acute angle. The game finally started to open up past the half-hour, when first Yevhen Konoplyanka struck a beautiful curling effort just wide from distance before a golden chance fell to Andriy Yarmolenko inside the area, but some heroic last-ditch defending from the Swedes kept the scoresheet blank. Ibrahimovic was then inches away from opening the scoring, connecting freely with a floated ball over from the right, but his header flicked agonisingly wide off the far post. Ukraine started the second half as brightly as they ended the first, but it was Sweden who went ahead. Left-back Yevhen Selin was down injured but Sweden played on, and Sebastian Larsson’s cross fell to Kim Kallstrom, who passed low for Ibrahimovic to stab home from close range. The lead was brief, however, and the co-hosts were quickly back on level terms. Yarmolenko played in a superb cross from the right, and Shevchenko rose in front of the defender to power a header inside Isaksson’s near post and send the fans into raptures. Six minutes later national hero Shevchenko struck again, racing to the near post to meet Konoplankya’s corner and head low into the net to give Ukraine the lead, leaving Hamren’s side completely stunned and the 65,000 home supporters ecstatic. Johan Elmander came on for Sweden with 20 minutes left as they looked to find an equaliser, and Ibrahimovic nearly produced the goods, unleashing a fearsome shot towards goal from 20 yards which Andriy Pyatov knew very little about as it ricocheted off him and was cleared. Hero of the hour Shevchenko came off with 10 minutes left to a well-deserved ovation as Sweden continued to push forward and test the Ukraine defence, with substitute Christian Wilhelmsson providing much of the threat down the left-hand side. Elmander had a glorious chance to equalise at the death, latching on to a lofted ball, but he blasted over when through on goal before makeshift striker Olof Mellberg lofted a volley over the bar. The co-hosts held on for the win and will face France in Donetsk on Friday as Group D leaders.

France vs England

France 1-1 England: Lescott earns Hodgson's side deserved draw The Manchester City man's opening goal was cancelled out by Samir Nasri's strike for Les Bleus, but the Three Lions defended resolutely to earn an important point England opened up their Euro 2012 campaign with a cagey 1-1 draw against France at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk. Laurent Blanc's team controlled much of the Group D fixture but Joleon Lescott headed the Three Lions into the lead after 30 minutes. Les Bleus were level before half-time thanks to Samir Nasri's strike in the 39th minute but could not unlock England's defence after the break. France looked to generate their first attacks down the left flank, with Franck Ribery finding space behind Glen Johnson early on and Nasri, drifting across the edge of the penalty area, shooting just wide of Joe Hart's right post. It was Roy Hodgson's men, though, who created the best chance of the opening quarter of an hour. Ashley Young found enough space to turn and pick out the slanted run of James Milner, who rounded Hugo Lloris with his first touch but could only hit the side netting with his second. In the next 15 minutes the Three Lions were to carve out very little more but just as France seemed to be tightening their grip on proceedings, England jumped into the lead. Gerrard brought back memories of David Beckham with a sublime delivery from the right-hand side that Lescott powered past Lloris from close range. Alou Diarra was beaten in the air in that instance but the Marseille midfielder very nearly made amends when he forced Hart into an excellent save from a free kick before nodding a second attempt inches wide after Ribery had returned the ball to the danger zone. Ribery was at the centre of all things positive for Les Bleus and as Laurent Blanc's team cranked up the pressure towards the end of the half, he played a part in their deserved equaliser. The Bayern Munich star teed the ball up for Nasri, who rattled a 20-yard shot inside Hart's near post. England had more of a say early in the second half, with both teams trading blows without creating too much in the way of clear-cut chances. Gerrard was denied a clear free kick in a good position on the edge of the France penalty area before the Liverpool captain cut out Patrice Evra's threatening cross at the other end. With Scott Parker seemingly struggling with either an injury or fatigue, France began to exploit more space in front of the England defence and Karim Benzema, hitherto a subdued presence, found enough room to unleash a powerful shot that Hart matched. Parker's situation was not helped when he felt the full force of Florent Malouda's attempted shot with a brave block. Yohan Cabaye might have hit the back of the net with a neat volley if Danny Welbeck had not stuck out a leg to register an important block before Gerrard diverted Benzema's curling shot to safety as France continued to search for a decisive goal. England added Jermain Defoe and Theo Walcott to their attack while France looked to Hatem Ben Arfa and Marvin Martin for inspiration but while Les Bleus remained well on top, Hodgson's team defended bravely to secure a valuable point.

Ireland vs Croatia

Ireland 1-3 Croatia: Trapattoni's men freeze on the big stage The Balkan outfit netted a trio of goals at crucial times to take a huge three points, making the Boys in Green pay for some unforgivably sloppy defending Croatia took charge of Group C with a comfortable 3-1 victory as Ireland's usually reliable defence crumbled in their first game of Euro 2012 in Poznan. Mario Mandzukic got the Balkan side off to a great start with an early goal but Sean St Ledger restored parity midway through the first half. Ireland then began to take a back seat in the match and they were punished with two more goals courtesy of Nikica Jelavic and Mandzukic either side of the break. Giovanni Trapattoni, the oldest coach to ever grace a European Championship, sprung no surprises with his starting XI. Slaven Bilic however made one surprising omission as he opted to leave the experienced Josip Simunic on the bench and use Darijo Srna in a more defensive role. The national anthems were greeted with deafening noise but half of the stadium fell quiet within three minutes of kick off. Srna drove to the byeline and clipped the ball back into the area where Mandzukicrecovered from a slip to meet it with his head. He somehow generated enough power to get his effort on target, catching Shay Given by surprise, the keeper unable to keep the ball out of the net. Kevin Doyle was making a nuisance of himself in attack and showed great energy as he refused to give the opposing defence a moments rest. After drawing a free kick from Vedran Corluka, Aiden McGeady whipped in the subsequent free-kick from out on the left. Corluka compounded a nightmare couple of minutes as he lost St Ledger at the back post and he nodded in to level in the 19th minute. However, Ireland began to drop deeper and allowed Bilic's side more of the ball in their talented midfield. Croatia thus seized control of possession but with the final third congested Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric were forced to shoot from range and despite both hitting the target, Given was equal to them. Trapattoni's side were being stretched thinly and were unable to hold on until half time as Stephen Ward sliced a clearance from Modric's shot straight into the path of an unmarked Jelavic. The striker was quick to react and stabbed the ball over Given to score his first international goal since August 2010. The second half began just as the first and Croatia doubled their lead just moments after the restart. Perisic's delivery from the left was glanced towards the far corner by the head of Mandzukic. His attempt bounced out off the post but was cruelly diverted into the net via the head of Given as he dived to make the save. Ireland were lacking numbers going forward and their fans were incensed at the referee's decision not to award them a penalty when Gordon Schildenfeld went through the back of Robbie Keane at the top of the box. The Balkan side soon stepped off the gas and slowed down the tempo of the game to stop their opponents from gaining any momentum. Goalmouth action was limited until a flowing move from Croatia ended with Srna cutting the ball back to Ivan Rakitic on the 18-yard line but his right-footed effort was always curling away from the target. Keith Andrews headed wide in stoppage time but they could not deny Bilic's men a valuable win that puts them top of Group C and making qualification for the quarter-finals a real possibility. Ireland meanwhile face an uphill struggle if they are to progress, needing positive results against both Spain and Italy.

Spain vs Italy

Spain 1-1 Italy: Fabregas spares holders' blushes The Barcelona midfielder replied almost immediately after Antonio Di Natale's strike on the hour mark to earn La Furia Roja a point in the opening match of Group C Italy and Spain kicked off their respective Euro 2012 campaigns with an absorbing 1-1 draw on Sunday in Group C. Antonio Di Natale drew first blood for the Azzurri on 60 minutes, coming straight off the substitutes bench to put his side ahead, but only four minutes later, Cesc Fabregas ensured their opening day ended with a share of the spoils in Gdansk. The headline news that preceded the match was the inclusion of Cesc Fabregas as the man who would be bestowed with leading the line for the Spaniards in a 'false No.9' role, ahead of recognised strikers Fernando Torres and Fernando Llorente. Meanwhile, coach Cesare Prandelli went with a 3-5-2 formation, with Daniele De Rossi lining up in defence. Emanuele Giaccherini was also given his maiden bow for the Azzurri at left wing-back. Predictably, inside the first 10 minutes, Spain set out their stall as Italy were put on the back foot. La Roja threatened to impose their tiki-taka style in the early stages, but la Nazionale's wall at the back refused to be beaten, lead by Daniele De Rossi. Soon after, the first chance of the game fell to David Silva, as the Roma man's mistimed tackle saw the ball fall to Andres Iniesta, who then laid a pass off for the diminutive Manchester City star. However, his attempt was easily saved by Gianluigi Buffon. The move provided the impetus for Italy to hit back on 13 minutes with an Andrea Pirlo free-kick. Mario Balotelli's feint allowed the Juventus playmaker to step up and curl an attempt to the right of Iker Casillas, but the goalkeeper parried away to safety. From there on, Italy gained momentum. Antonio Cassano was next up, collecting Claudio Marchisio's through ball, but his shot in the box went just wide of the far post with Casillas beaten. Spain seemed to have lost their cutting edge, but with Iniesta on the ball, they could never be discounted. Italy continued to look more purposeful in their play, but La Roja came steaming back through the Barcelona man, who saw his lobbed effort go just over. Italy soon rued their luck as Christian Maggio ventured on another lung-bursting foray down the right, before crossing the ball on the head of an incoming Thiago Motta, but the Brazil-born midfielder's header was crucially stopped by Casllas. No changes were witnessed during the break, but Spain came quick out of the blocks. Within moments of the restart Xavi smashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box, but Buffon was again equal, this time diving to his right to beat the ball away. Iniesta was quick to fire yet another attempt at the Juventus No. 1 from distance, before a moment of madness saw Balotelli through on goal with the box gaping, but he wanted far too much time on the ball and was eventually dispossessed by Sergio Ramos. Prandelli subsequently hauled the temperamental forward off for Antonio Di Natale, who in a matter of minutes superbly latched onto Pirlo's through pass and curled an emphatic finish past Casillas on the hour mark. However, just four minutes later, Spain took advantage of some uncertain defensive play by the Azzurri, as neat link-up play between Iniesta and Silva saw Fabregas ghost into the box to coolly restore parity. With only 20 minutes remaining yet more opportunities were fluffed. Substitute Fernando Torres capitalised on a failed offside trap, but his one-on-one with Buffon ended with the grateful goalkeeper putting a foot in to win the ball back. Moments later, Sebastian Giovinco scooped up a delightful pass into the path of Di Natale, who peeled away from Gerard Pique in the danger area, but he could not connect with the ball as he would have liked, seeing his effort loop just wide of the target. Torres then was gifted with another opportunity to prove his critics wrong right at the end, but he hesitated in another one-on-one with Buffon, seeing his chip over the goalkeeper go harmlessly over to keep both sides tied after the first game of the tournament.

Germany vs Portugal

Germany 1-0 Portugal: Gomez header settles tense encounter The Bayern Munich striker stole all three points for the tournament favorites with a second-half header, in a closely-fought encounter that could have gone either way Germany kicked off their Euro 2012 campaign in efficient fashion, grinding out a narrow 1-0 win over Portugal at the Lviv Arena on Saturday. Mario Gomez's pinpoint header on 72 minutes sent the beaten 2008 finalists to a crucial three points, and joint-top of Group B with Denmark after their tournament opener. The match was certainly not one for the purists, with clear-cut chances hard to come by. Both sides gave a disciplined, if not dynamic performance on the field, with the tension becoming unbearable at times in the stands. After much pre-tournament speculation as to who would spearhead the attack for Germany, coach Joachim Low gave Gomez the nod ahead of Miroslav Klose as the lone striker. The Bayern Munich man looked to repay his manager’s faith early on, sending a guided header from Jerome Boateng’s cross towards goal, which was smothered by Portugal keeper Rui Patricio. Neither side seemed in any hurry to take control of proceedings, though Cristiano Ronaldo did cause a few hearts to flutter when he flashed a low centre across the face of goal. With just under a quarter of an hour gone, Germany keeper Manuel Neuer was floored by a dreadful late challenge from Helder Postiga, who was perhaps fortunate to escape his briefing with referee Stephane Lannoy with only a yellow card. Earlier in Group B’s other fixture, a chance-laden affair saw Denmark stun Netherlands, but there were no signs of such a spectacle repeating itself as goalmouth action remained elusive. Germany, despite boasting nearly two-thirds of possession throughout the opening period, could muster nothing more than a few half-chances, with Lukas Podolski guilty of sending a pair of them off target. Muller lashed across goal after a hurried attack by the Germans moments before Holger Badstuber was booked for clipping Nani's heels. In fact, the best opening of the half fell to Portugal minutes before the break. Pepe attacked a rebound from a corner, but his side-footed attempt bounced off the crossbar and onto the goalline. The match remained finely poised as the second-half wore on, with Germany just about able to claim the upper hand, though with little improvement in their cutting edge in front of goal. On the hour mark, a heavy tackle on Sami Khedira by Fabio Coentrao saw the Portugal left-back man receive a yellow card. Boateng soon joined him in the book for manhandling Ronaldo as Paulo Bento's men looked to break. The match needed a spark, and Low seemed set to provide one by readying Klose on the sidelines with 72 minutes gone, with the departure of Gomez appearing imminent. But no substitution was made at that moment, because after Khedira floated in a cross from the right towards Gomez, the Bayern striker climbed above Pepe to head Germany into the lead. The 26-year-old soon came within inches of adding another, just failing to get a toe on Muller’s centre, before belatedly making way for Klose 10 minutes from time. That sparked a late surge for Portugal, with Nani twice coming close to bringing them back into the game, one of his efforts being an audacious 35-yard cross-shot that clipped off the woodwork. Portugal had their best chance of the match two minutes before the end, but Neuer did fantastically well to spread himself and block Valera from point blank range. An even later Nani effort was blocked away from goal, with Bruno Alves sending a header from the resulting corner over, as Germany held on to claim victory. Next up for Germany is a clash against fellow favourites Netherlands, while Portugal square off against Denmark, with both matches taking place on Wednesday.