The German machine showed itself to be functioning perfectly as die Mannschaft brushed aside Ukraine in their opening game. You can follow their clash against Poland with DAN RIPLEY.

MATT BARLOW AT THE STADE DE FRANCE: This time, Joachim Low was left scratching his head as opposed to another part of his anatomy as Poland made his world champions appear mortal..

Sportsmail's Martin Keown offers his assessment of Tuesday's two early games at Euro 2016 as Northern Ireland look to secure progress to the last 16 and Poland try to beat Germany to top spot.

Poland will hope Robert Lewandowski can fire them to an automatic top-two qualification spot for Euro 2016 when they face Ukraine on Tuesday afternoon.

Poland reached the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time in their history following a 1-0 victory over neighbours Ukraine in the Stade Velodrome, Marseille.

SECRET SCOUT: Sportsmail’s football expert has been busy scrutinising the Euros for prospective Premier League bargains this summer. 

Polish coach Adam Nawalka doesn't want striker Robert Lewandowski compared to Cristiano Ronaldo as the striker faces Switzerland on Saturday having failed to score at Euro 2016.

The underwhelming group-stages are over and Euro 2016's knockout round is underway. Here, Sportsmail columnist MARTIN KEOWN gives his verdict on Saturday's last-16 games.

Switzerland and Poland have both reached the knock-out stage of the European Championship for the first time after finishing runners-up in their respective groups.

Poland are through to the quarter-finals of a European Championship for the first time in their history after defeating Switzerland 5-4 on penalties in Saint Etienne following a 1-1 draw.

CHRIS HATHERALL IN SAINT-ETIENNE: Poland are through to the quarter-finals of a European Championship for the first time in their history after winning on penalties against Switzerland.

Arkadiusz Milik is looking forward to playing against one of his footballing heroes, Cristiano Ronaldo, when Poland face Portugal in the European Championship quarter-finals in Marseille.

Portugal will need Cristiano Ronaldo firing on all cylinders on Thursday night if they are to overcome a stubborn Polish side in Marseille.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 despite failing to win a game in normal time in the tournament so far.

So it was ITV who were first out of the blocks for the quarter finals. Which meant that they didn’t get the Welsh game.

Renato Sanches insists any criticism of Portugal has no effect on the players as they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016 after a penalty shoot-out victory over Poland.

IAN LADYMAN AT STADE VELODROME: Cristiano Ronaldo has been here before and made the wrong call. Portugal exited Euro 2012 on penalties to Spain without their great talisman taking a kick.

Portugal have become the first team in modern European Championship finals history to reach the semi-finals of without winning a single game in normal time, having beaten Poland.

Poland’s star player Robert Lewandowski was recovering on Friday from a ‘brutal’ end to his side’s run at Euro 2016. The striker's goal was not enough to see his side overcome Portugal.

Everton and Napoli target Arkadiusz Milik will not be allowed to leave in this window, say his club Ajax. The Polish star is understood have agreed to stay at least until January.

Sportsmail revealed Leicester's bid at the weekend and the Premier League champions have now settled on a fee with Cracovia for an initial £5.4million, rising to £7.4m based on performance.

A hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski lifted Poland to a 3-2 victory over Denmark in a thrilling World Cup Group E qualifier in Warsaw on Saturday.

Poland's World Cup qualifier with Romania had to be suspended when a firecracker exploded at the feet of striker Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich man needed medical attention.

Bucharest police have questioned 17 football fans after clashes at the World Cup qualifier between Romania and Poland on Friday.

The Bayern striker, who scored twice in his country's 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over Romania on Friday, will not be in the squad for the friendly against Slovenia after returning to Germany.

Robert Lewandowski is widely regarded as one of Europe's top marksmen, but the Bayern Munich striker has shown he is more than just a lethal goalscorer with his juggling skills in training.

DOMINIC KING IN MUNICH: What if? Robert Lewandowski has no cause for regret in his stunning career but, from time to time, he asks himself that question and starts to wonder.

Top scorer Fernando Llorente has boosted Swansea by being declared fit to face Bournemouth as Paul Clement insists there is no need to panic after the setback against Hull.

Goals from Eric Dier and Marcus Rashford saw England come from behind to defeat Slovakia 2-1 to take a giant step towards qualifying for the World Cup next summer.

The countdown to the 2018 World Cup ramps up significantly on Friday when the draw for next summer's tournament in Russia takes place.  Sportsmail previews how it will all happen.

Spain are paired in the same group as Portugal for the World Cup next summer, while Russia host Saudi Arabia in the tournament's opening game as England are handed favourable draw.

Bayern Munich striker appeared hard at work on Monday as Adam Nawalka's squad trained ahead the tournament. Poland have two friendlies still to play against Chile and Lithuania.

Here is the full fixture list for the World Cup in Russia. We've split them up day by day and also by group to make it easy to follow and plan which games you will be watching.

There are 12 arenas hosting World Cup games with Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium kicking things off as well as bringing the show to and end with the final on July 15. Here's our guide to them all.

The 2018 World Cup is just days away, but for the first time in decades Australians won't be able to watch all the games live on free-to-air TV.

Optus won the rights to stream all 64 games of the World Cup to Australian audiences via their online and mobile services. But thousands of viewers were left frustrated by a troubling error message.

Viewers of the match between Argentina and Iceland on Saturday night were forced to sit through delays of up to three minutes - prompting claims for paying customers to be compensated.

When it comes to Robert Lewandowski, the numbers do not lie. He scored 41 goals in the season just gone, and hit 43 the year before. He has 55 in 95 games for Poland.

Idrissa Gueye's deflected shot put Senegal into the lead after a dull first-half before M'Baye Niang latched onto a Grzegorz Krychowiak error to double his side's advantage.

Poland were sent crashing out of the World Cup as Colombia kept their dream alive with a resounding victory in Kazan on Sunday night. Relive the action with Sportsmail's JAMES DUTTON.

They both play on Thursday, against Japan and Tunisia respectively, and if they manage to score then it will be the first time in the World Cup's history that all teams have scored twice.

Surprise Group H leaders Japan know that a draw will be enough to take them through to the knockout stages of the tournament in Russia. Poland have already been knocked out.

HOT OR NOT: Radamel Falcao looks reborn for Colombia at the World Cup

The UEFA Nations League inaugural weekend continues tonight as Italy host Poland, while Scotland are also in action in a friendly with Belgium. Follow the action here with MICHAEL SEARLES .

Jorginho made up for an uncharacteristic error leading to Poland taking a deserved first-half lead by scoring a 78th-minute penalty to ensure Roberto Mancini avoided defeat in his first competitive game.

Portsmouth striker Ronan Curtis has been drafted into the Republic of Ireland squad for Tuesday night's friendly in Poland. The 22-year-old has been added to a depleted party for the game in Wroclaw.

CRAIG HOPE IN WROCLAW: Poland manage to salvage a draw in their friendly with the Republic of Ireland after Mateusz Klich cancelled out Aiden O'Brien's debut goal on Tuesday evening.

Italy prepared for Sunday's UEFA Nations League clash with Poland with a training session in the Florence sunshine. Roberto Mancini watched on as the late afternoon sun beat down.

Roberto Mancini very much put his Italy players through their paces as they look to claim their first victory in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday night against Poland.

Sportsmail provides you with everything you need to know for UEFA Nations League including how it works, groups, fixtures and how it impacts EURO 2020 play-off system.