EURO 2008 INFO

Day two of Euro 2008 saw Germany best bitter rivals Poland thanks to an accomplished display from the old guard, but will that be enough to see them go all the way?

Germany were convincing for most of the encounter against rivals Poland and came away deserving 2-0 winners. However, the win was not without its worrying moments, against what can only be described as decidedly weak though admittedly highly motivated opposition.

The major players from the 2006 World Cup side that made the semi-finals came to the fore again last night and compensated for tactical and technical frailties through the squad. It was a big game for Germany, and their chief big game player, Michael Ballack, once again rose to the occasion.

It may have 'only' been Poland, but the rivalry is fierce, the politics and personal attacks in the media only making things worse and of course, the fact that slipped the mind of many, is that Germany had gone a staggering 12 years without winning in this competition. Having won the tournament in England in 1996, Germany failed to get out of the group stages in both 2000 and 2004 (despite a World Cup final in 2002 and semi-final in 2006) and the pressure to succeed in the European Championship for the competition's most successful team was huge.

Ballack is the consummate midfielder; like many Germans, he has been trained to do it all - a trait that has even rubbed off on former Bayern Munich England international Owen Hargreaves - and yesterday he did everything but score, with an outstanding fingertip save from Artur Boruc denying him that honour.

The former Bayern Munich star was picking passes, tracking back, charging forward and very much taking the game by the scruff of the neck. The support play of Torsten Frings cannot be underplayed, as the injury-hit workhorse put in a brilliant performance sweeping up in front of the back four. Lukas Podolski, too, put in a dynamic performance in left wing - though he was afforded a free role he utilised well to bag both goals.

Typical of Ballack-era Germany, though, is that the aura of invincibility has evaporated and weaknesses can be exposed far too easily in the team as a unit. It has been up to the same individuals to keep the Mannschaft afloat, with Ballack the maestro in the middle of it all. His individual pedigree cannot be questioned; his various Player of the Year accolades are testament to his ability and his range of abilities and selfless team work are characteristics of a champion, yet he is anything but in the grand scheme of things. His Bundesliga and German Cup honours are certainly notable, but his failure to go beyond - finishing runner-up in the World Cup and the Champions League twice - may cost him a place in history unless his supporting cast can rise to the occasion.

The likes of Frings, Lahm, Klose and Podolski also delivered, but the fact is - as it was with Bayer Leverkusen, previous Germany sides and even Chelsea towards the end of this domestic season - a select few will only get you so far. The draw has been kind to Joachim Löw's men and they should reach the semi-finals almost by default. There they are likely to face Portugal, who are a side growing in strength while the Germans, without regressing, have hit something of a plateau and are desperately in need of more cutting edge.

The new school are not lacking in raw talent. Marcell Jansen, Mario Gomez and Per Mertesacker have what it takes to succeed at the top level, and all three exhibited positive aspects of their play but also exhibited weaknesses which cannot be afforded at the top level. The likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Cristoph Metzelder and Miroslav Klose will certainly have to sharpen up if the Germans are to stand a chance of winning the tournament. In fact had they been in the other half of the draw, there would have been a reasonable chance they may not have made it out of the groups for a third time in a row.

ALSO...

Croatia have seemingly managed to reach the stage where they are so often tipped as underdogs that by the very definition, they no longer are. The expectation was high going into their first game and they were gifted a goal from the penalty spot after five minutes. Beyond that, they did very little to impress against co-hosts Austria, who are the weakest side in the tournament.

Missing Eduardo da Silva denied them their key goal-scorer, but their failure to otherwise adjust was evident - quite similar to Switzerland without Alexander Frei - and indeed there is very chance that, despite their win, Croatia may struggle to qualify, even having been placed in the weakest group. It seems beating England prematurely propelled Slaven Bilic and his men to a status of which they were not yet worthy. Luka Modric, though a quality player, is not quite the world beater his price tag would suggest, and Bilic's failure to rouse his troops for the second half may even call into question his managerial prowess which, up until now, had always rightly been the subject of praise. Will they recover the all-round strength that made them such a threat against England, or are they simply out of their league, particularly when missing Eduardo? Time will tell...