Euro 2016 daily: Daniel Sturridge breaks Wales hearts, Germany held, Will Grigg may or may not be on fire (VIDEO)

The great football at Euro 2016 continued on Thursday. England took on Wales in front of a passionate crowd, while Germany and Northern Ireland were also in action.

The first fixture of the day saw England and Wales square off in a key clash. A poor result for the Three Lions would have put their chances of progress in great jeopardy. Despite a toothless display against Russia, Roy Hodgson kept his team unchanged with Jamie Vardy starting on the bench.

As England feared, they failed to stick the ball in the back of the net in the first half, leaving Wales to take the lead just before half-time. Welsh talisman, Gareth Bale, converted a free-kick from some way out to stick the supposed underdogs in front. Joe Hart’s role in the goal was questionable.

Hodgson has often been criticised by England fans for being too conservative and unwilling to take chances. However, he was somewhat forced into some genius substitutions with the prospect of England crashing out of Euro 2016 staring him in the face.

Jamie Vardy was brought on for an out-of-sorts Harry Kane, while Daniel Sturridge replaced a disappointing Raheem Sterling. Both of England’s goals came from the subs.

Vardy pulled the Three Lions level in the 56th minute with a great poacher’s goal. Credit must be given to the officials for realising that the ball was headed by Wales’ Ashley Williams, meaning that Vardy was not offside.

It was a tight contest through to the end, but Sturridge was able to pop up in the final moments to give England a much-needed victory.

Chelsea’s Gary Cahill played the full 90 minutes. Although there were moments when the backline appeared shaky, it was a solid performance overall from the defender.

With four points from their opening two games, England are all but guaranteed to reach the knock-out stages. Wales, meanwhile, are still in a decent position having won their first fixture.

In the second game of the day, Northern Ireland also secured a vital three points against Ukraine. Gareth McAuley gave Michael O’Neill’s men the lead, before substitute Niall McGinn confirmed the result in second half stoppage time. Cue bizarre commentary from Ian Dowie.

Cult hero Will Grigg did not feature for Northern Ireland, and thus we were unable to ascertain whether he still is on fire.

In the shock result of the day, World Cup winners Germany were held by Poland. Neither side were able to register on the scoresheet in a game that lacked entertainment.

There are another three games today. Antonio Conte’s Italy take on Sweden after their surprise 2-0 dismantlement of Belgium. Czech Republic then square off with Croatia in the 5pm BST kick-off. Spain will look to round off the day with a stylish display against a tough Turkey team in the late match.

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