Euro 2016 roundup: England defeats Wales to take lead in group

Halftime substitute Daniel Sturridge scored an injury-time winner to give England a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Wales on Thursday at Lens, France, moving the winners to the top of Group B at the European Championship.

England had fallen behind after Gareth Bale scored from a long-distance free kick in the 42nd minute. But England Coach Roy Hodgson brought on Jamie Vardy and Sturridge at halftime in an aggressive move to get more finishing power up front.

Vardy scored the equalizer, pouncing on a misdirected defensive clearance in the 56th minute with just his third touch. Sturridge muscled his way into the box to score the winning goal in the first minute of stoppage time.

Northern Ireland 2, Ukraine 0: Northern Ireland scored a pair of second-half goals and won its first game at Euro 2016, the victory at Lyon eliminating Ukraine.

Northern Ireland’s victory — its first in a major competition in 34 years — combined with the later 0-0 draw between Germany and Poland to leave Ukraine unable to advance from Group C.

Building on a strong finish to the first half, Northern Ireland center back Gareth McAuley put his team ahead with a header from an Oliver Norwood free kick in the 49th minute. Substitute Niall McGinn added the second goal deep in stoppage time when Ukraine was chasing an equalizer.

Germany 0, Poland 0: A glaring miss was fittingly the key moment of the first goalless draw of Euro 2016 in a dour match at Saint-Denis.

Arkadiusz Milik, who scored Poland’s winner against Northern Ireland on Sunday, miscued a header as he fell to his knees in Germany’s goalmouth and the ball bounced just wide of Manuel Neuer’s right-hand post.

That error, less than 20 seconds into the second half, hinted at better things after a lifeless first period. However, neither team could sustain any attacking pressure, and a point suits both after their opening wins.