Paris: Old rivals Germany and Poland fought a battle of attrition that ended in a goalless draw and edged both countries towards a place in the last 16 of Euro 2016 on Thursday.
The stalemate left Germany on top of Group ‘C’ on goal difference with both sides on four points from two matches. Poland’s Arkadiusz Milik had the best chance when he bundled the ball wide from point-blank range early in the second-half.
Germany’s Jerome Boateng complained that his side had been “too rigid” in their play. But a draw was a fair result from a tightly contested encounter. Poland take on Ukraine in Marseille in their final pool match with a draw enough to seal their place in the knockout stages.
Poland had only beaten Germany once in 20 previous meetings, but that came in qualifying for Euro 2016 and the Poles were full of confidence having won their first ever Euro finals match against Northern Ireland on Sunday.
Germany were playing at the Stade de France for the first time since they were caught up in the November 13 jihadist attacks in Paris. They were forced to spend a traumatic night in the dressing rooms at the stadium when a series of attacks across Paris left 130 dead on a night they faced the French in a friendly.
