Euro 2016, Day 12 previews: Thomas Muller expects German forwards to step it up against Northern Ireland

In other matches of the day, Ukraine face Poland, Spain take on Croatia and Czech Republic get ready for Turkey.

Thomas Muller, in white, accepts he and his fellow German forwards have not fired at Euro 2016 yet. Charles Platiau / Reuters

Group C: Northern Ireland v Germany, 8pm (UAE time)

Germany have promised that their attack will pack a bigger punch when they face Northern Ireland on Tuesday after struggling up front in their first two matches.

The Germans will definitely go through to the tournament’s last 16 with a win or a draw in their final group game but they will need to be more clinical in front of goal, having scored just twice in their two matches so far.

“In attack we have not had the goal success we want,” said attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller, who is fresh from his most prolific scoring season at Bayern Munich with 20 league goals.

“From forwards that is what is expected and we are measured by our goalscoring abilities.”

Neither goal in the 2-0 opening win over Ukraine came from a forward with central defender Shkodran Mustafi and holding midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on target.

They followed that up with a goalless draw against Poland.

Manager Joachim Low must decide whether to stick with misfiring attacking midfielder Mario Gotze up front or use his only out-and-out striker Mario Gomez, top scorer in the Turkish league last season, or even deploy winger Andre Schurrle through the middle.

“Of course we want to have more punch in attack. Both in training and in the analysis we are looking for some solutions but we are in a good position,” Goetze said.

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Group C: Ukraine v Poland, 8pm

Poland, bidding to reach the knockout stages for the first time, will take nothing for granted when they face neighbours Ukraine in their final group match on Tuesday.

Ukraine lost their first two games and cannot progress but Poland, second in the standings after beating Northern Ireland 1-0 in their opening match, will reach the last 16 if they overcome their co-hosts of Euro 2012.

“Third matches tend to be different from the first two,” Poland assistant coach Hubert Malowiejski said. “I don’t agree Ukraine play for nothing. They play for honour what is important for them. We are prepared for very dangerous opponent full of Shakhtar, Dynamo Kiev and Sevilla players.”

Poland have not beaten Ukraine in their last five meetings, including two defeats in 2014 World Cup qualifying, and they may be without first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny again due to a thigh injury.

“We don’t know yet whether he will be fit for Ukraine or not. Our specialists work with him but nothing can be declared at the moment,” Malowiejski said.

Lukasz Fabianski, who deputised for Szczesny in Poland’s 0-0 draw against Germany, will replace him again if he fails to recover, and he is confident about his team’s organisation.

“Why are we playing better in defence than before? One of the reasons is the fact that we have lot of information about the opponents from our information bank and thanks to that, we know better how to neutralise them,” Fabianski said.

Group D: Croatia v Spain, 11pm

When Croatia meet Spain in their final group match on Tuesday, there will be as much scrutiny of developments in the stands as on the pitch.

The wilder element of the Croatian supporters have caused trouble at both of the country’s games so far and Uefa was expected to make an announcement on its probe into their behaviour later on Monday.

Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings after Croatia fans threw flares and ran on to the pitch during their opening Group D game, a 1-0 win against Turkey.

Then Friday’s 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic was halted with four minutes to play when supporters again threw flares and fought among themselves.

After the teams returned to the pitch, Croatia’s players felt their concentration had been disturbed, which contributed to the Czechs scoring a late equaliser with a penalty.

That means instead of already having qualified for the last 16 along with Spain, Croatia still require a point from Tuesday’s game, adding to the tension of the occasion.

That will be more difficult if Croatia’s influential playmaker Luka Modric is unfit, as expected, placing even greater importance on Ivan Rakitic’s role.

Although Spain have already qualified, they want to win the group and meet a third-placed team in the last 16. Losing to Croatia would mean coming second and facing Italy, the winners of Group E.

Group D: Czech Republic v Turkey, 11pm

Turkey have left it late to bid for a place in the knockout stage but defender Gokhan Gonul says they still have a chance, if they can beat a buoyant Czech side in their final group game on Tuesday.

“There is a thing the Turkish national team always does, which is chasing the game until the last minute,” the 31-year-old defender said. “Again we have left it until the last game, maybe we don’t have much of a chance this time, but we will still do our very best and hopefully, with the help of some luck, we can defeat the Czech Republic and go through.”

The Czechs, though, are full of confidence after fighting back from two goals down to draw with Croatia on Friday.

Turkey, by contrast, were lacking in bite when they lost 1-0 to Croatia in their opening game before being given a footballing lesson in a 3-0 drubbing by reigning European champions Spain.

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