1. Modric stars but Croatia far from a one-man team
LUKA MODRIC DOESN’T score many goals but his decisive strike in Paris this afternoon was well worth waiting for.
The Real Madrid midfielder proved the difference in a tight and scrappy affair as Croatia edged past Turkey to get their campaign off on the right foot.
Modric’s first-half volley was the first goal his country have scored from outside the box at a European Championships and it was fitting that it came from their main man.
The 30-year-old is criminally underappreciated, or at least he has been, and once again pulled the strings as he got the better of his counterpart, Barcelona’s Arda Turan.
Modric was the heartbeat of Real Madrid’s engine room en route to Champions League success last season and he plays a similar role in the national side, running the show at the Parc des Princes.
His goal, even if the goalkeeper could have done better, was technically superb and was just reward for his performance on the day – but Croatia are far from a one-man team.
Afterwards, their players spoke of the level of expectation among their fans and that they expect the team to win Euro 2016 this summer.
On this evidence, they have much work to do but with the two Ivans (Perisic and Rakitic) alongside Modric, Croatia have an abundance of talent in their ranks.
They did enough today, and you would feel they’ll need to improve significantly, but with Modric in this sort of form, Croatia might be worth keeping an eye on.
2. Efficient Germany get the job done
The world champions are up and running in Group C and they will be quietly satisfied with their campaign opener, even if it took them until the dying embers to seal the points.
Jogi Low’s side were purposeful from the off and looked in the mood as they committed numbers to attack with the movement and guile of Goetze, Ozil and Mueller proving to be a real handful for Ukraine.
They deservedly hit the front after just 19 minutes and while they should have really kicked on, they were always in control of the contest, particularly in the second half when Ukraine ran out of stream.
It was far from a vintage performance but Germany moved through the gears and their attacking performance will please Low, although they were guilty of spurning a few chances.
That said, Germany are ruthlessly efficient in major tournaments, particularly in the group stage, and save for a brief period in the first half, a commanding victory was always on the cards.
3. A better side will punish Germany’s vulnerable defence
While Germany were thoroughly deserving of their win, there were certainly chinks in their armour which a better team may have exploited.
For the best part of 10 minutes before half time, Ukraine enjoyed a sustained period of pressure and they asked serious questions of Germany’s defence.
The world champions didn’t buckle but they were incredibly shaky defensively with Neuer coming to the rescue on more than one occasion.
Jerome Boateng was far from convincing – although his goal-line clearance was superb – and they looked vulnerable from set-pieces, a problem they don’t appear to have addressed since the qualifying campaign.
The absence of Mats Hummels was telling and Low will be hoping his centre back recovers from injury in time for Thursday’s clash with Poland, and Robert Lewandowski.
It’s still early days yet but if Germany are to win their first European Championships since 1996, they will need to tighten up at the back.
On TV3, Uwe Rosler said this defence, many of whom were playing out of position, ‘cannot be trusted’. They got away with it tonight but they’ll be caught out at some point during the tournament.
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