Germany and Croatia got off to winning starts at the European championship finals in Austria and Switzerland on June 8, as the first matches in group B were played in Klagenfurt and Vienna, respectively.

It was a case for history repeating itself, as Germany once again beat their neighbours despite being on the back foot for much of the second half. The rivalry between the two nations, much of it rooted in the hostilities of World War 2, has long ago spilled on the football field and police were on heightened alert in the build-up to the match, arresting 17 German fans.

The Polish media have come under fire for stoking the fires, with one newspaper running a front-page montage in which Poland's manager Leo Beenhakker held the severed heads of German manager Joachim Loew and team captain Michael Ballack under the headline "Leo, bring us their heads!"

The fact that Germany's two top strikers, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose, are both Polish-born has not helped matters. Podolski scored twice against the country of his birth to give Germany a 2:0 win, with both assists coming from Klose, but missed a chance to end the game with a hat-trick when he blasted over the bar with one minute left to play.

In the earlier game, Croatia won 1:0 against Austria, thanks to a fourth minute spotkick converted by Luka Modric. Croatia continued to attack, albeit cautiously, for the rest of the half, but completely surrendered any initiative after the break.

The co-hosts, rated as rank outsiders for the tournament, unleashed wave after wave of attacks against the Croatian defence, egged on by the home support, but failed to put the ball past Stipe Pletikosa, who had an outstanding day between the goalposts.

On the balance of play, Austria deserved at least a point from the fixture, with Croatia cornered in their own penalty box for much of the second half. Despite the disappointment, the co-hosts can look back on their performance with some measure of pride, proving wrong the thousands that signed an online petition before the tournament, asking that the team withdrew on account of being terrible.

Croatia will next meet Germany on June 12 in a match that could well decide the outcome of the top spot in the group, while Austria will take on Poland. Should the co-hosts play the same way as in the second half against Croatia, an upset does not look entirely impossible.