Can world champions Germany win Euro 2016 or will they get found out in the latter stages of the competition? They produced a co

Can world champions Germany win Euro 2016 or will they get found out in the latter stages of the competition? They produced a comfortable, if not entirely convincing 2-0 victory against Ukraine at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Sunday evening. Greg Pateryn Jersey .Despite keeping 68 per cent possession and creating the early chances, Germany also showed rare vulnerabilities which Ukraine were unable to exploit, but other teams will. Germany off to strong start Shkodran Mustafi and Bastian Schweinsteiger secure win in Euro 2016 opener Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi powered home the opener and then Bastian Schweinsteiger came off the bench to score his first international goal in five years and seal three points.With games against Poland and Northern Ireland to come, coach Joachim Loew will fully expect his side to make progress.Here, we explain why Germany are seen as genuine title contenders and why some may see them as an ailing force.Kroos controlGermany, eyeing their fourth Euro triumph but first since 1996, looked towards their midfield maestro Toni Kroos to unlock the Ukrainian defence. Germanys midfielder Toni Kroos (C) was instrumental in midfield Kroos was at the heart of much of their attacking threat and played the game at his own metronomic, unhurried fashion, making 130 touches over 90 minutes.The Real Madrid man played in a deeper, central role, wary of protecting an inexperienced backline as well as unlocking defences when going forward.Passing masterclassKroos came second in most passes made in La Liga last season and he has the highest pass accuracy rate (92 per cent). It was no surprise to see him dominate the middle of the park. Kroos provided a passing masterclass on Sunday night in Lille He will be aiming to become the complete German midfielder at Euro 2016, dominating with and without the ball. His range of passing and thought of passing is unique.The cultured Kroos found himself as the deepest central midfielder behind Mesut Ozil, but was ably assisted by the Arsenal star when Germany looked to counter.Attacking qualitiesHead coach Joachim Low picked a frightening front four with World Cup winners Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze supported by Wolfsburgs Julian Draxler.They have never lost their opening game at the European Championship finals and the German juggernaut marched on with another victory. Bastian Schweinsteiger made sure of the win in stoppage time It was understandable that Ukraine were concerned about their opponents ability to counter-attack so much so that they were happy to sit deep and squeeze the ball, rather than allow space in between the backline.Mustafis opener meant the Germans were always strong favourites to go on and claim all three points having won 18 of their last 19 games after being in front at half-time. Mario Gotze failed to make much of an impact as the false No 9 The Germans will worry if they progress to the latter stages of the tournament with Gotze playing as the false No 9 and no recognised striker.They will look to Spain, who have won tournaments without a recognised striker, but their ball retention is not the same. So can they rely on Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski and Muller to bring them glory?Mustafi on the riseGerman goalscorer Mustafi was released by then Everton boss David Moyes in 2012 after making just one substitute appearance during his time at Goodison Park.The 24-year-old moved to Italy to get his career back on track and while at Sampdoria he broke into the Germany national team. Shkodran Mustafi (C) opened the scoring It has been a remarkable last four years for Mustafi since leaving Everton, with the player making his competitive debut at the finals in Brazil as Germany went on to win their first major trophy since 1996.The time I was at Everton, I had to step on because I was not playing, said Mustafi. I needed to play so I asked David Moyes to release me. I needed to play to grow up.Everton were really professional with me and said it wasnt a problem to give me away because I wasnt playing. They always thought about the players, not themselves. Shkodran Mustafi was released by Everton but is now well established at Valencia That is unusual. They wanted to give the players the best opportunity and, for me, that was to move on and go somewhere where I could play.I took a step back to go to Serie B in Italy to make two steps forward and now I am here.Mustafi has since moved to Valencia where he has established himself in their first team and after scoring his first international goal in only his 11th appearance for his country, he has given Low a selection problem ahead of Poland on Thursday.Defensive headache?Low opted for the experience of Benedikt Howedes and Mustafi in a makeshift defence despite the fact the Germans started with 10 World Cup Winners.The pair were part of the squad that won the World Cup two years ago and were preferred to Joshua Kimmich and Emre Can in a defence ravaged by injuries, but you wouldnt know. Jerome Boateng made an amazing goal-line clearance Mats Hummels was only fit enough for a place on the bench, whilst Antonio Rudiger was forced to pull out the squad after suffering cruciate ligament damage last week. Schalkes Howedes started at right-back with Valencias Mustafi partnering Jerome Boating at the heart of the defence.Full-backs Howedes and Jonas Hector offered little pace on the flanks but their selection was aimed at slowing down Ukraines dangerous wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka. Germany have a powerful squad, but do they lack an attacking threat from the bench? And when Ukraine did break through the backline, they had to contend with the giant frame of Manuel Neuer between the sticks and the remarkable defensive abilities of Boateng.Dont forget to follow our minute-by-minute commentary of the game between Germany and Poland through our live blog on skysports.com/football, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportsfootball.Let us know your views on Germany by signing in with Facebook below and sending us a message.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Germany off to strong start As it happened Sky Sports Euro 2016 predictor Muller: Tournament specialist Joel Eriksson Ek Wild Jersey .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Zach Parise Wild Jersey . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Greg-pateryn-wild-jersey/ .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday.Daytona Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Ha Na Jang carded a 4-under 68 in Saturdays fourth round and she remained three strokes clear of the field at the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. Jang, who shared third place at the Evian Championship, finished 72 holes at 15-under-par 273. The field was split between two courses at LPGA International. Half of the field played on the Arthur Hills Course, while the other half was on the Rees Jones Course. Jang played on the Hills Course on Saturday. The Jones Course will host Sundays final round. Maria Hernandez fired a 7-under 65 to jump into second pplace at minus-12. Marcus Foligno Wild Jersey. Minjee Lee posted a 66 and she moved into third at 11-under-par 277. They both played the Jones Course in round four. Karlin Beck shot 5-under 67 on Saturday and she grabbed a share of fourth place at minus-10. Beck was joined there by Simin Feng, amateur Alison Lee and Ju Young Park, who all shot 2-under 70 in the fourth round. Louise Stahle (67) is alone in eighth place at 9-under 279, while Sophia Popov (71), Sakura Yokomine (70), Ariya Jutanugarn (67), amateur SooBin Kim (65) and Sei Young Kim (70) are one shot back at minus-8. MORE TO FOLLOW. ' ' '