The Latest: Germany leads Northern Ireland 1-0

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The Latest from soccer’s European Championship (all times local):

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6:35 p.m.

After missing a series of chances, Germany finally scored when Mario Gomez sidefooted his shot home after Thomas Mueller’s run across the penalty area drew the goalkeeper and two defenders out of position.

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6:30 p.m.

GOAL: Mario Gomez scores for Germany in the 30th minute. Germany leads Northern Ireland 1-0.

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6:09 p.m.

A fan in a section of Poland supporters has set off a flare during the country’s national anthem before the European Championship Group C match against Ukraine at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome.

Tournament organizer UEFA has handed out more than a dozen fines at Euro 2016 to football associations whose supporters have let off flares and fireworks in stadiums.

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5:45 p.m.

Ireland coach Martin O’Neill says striker Jon Walters “is very doubtful” for the game against Italy in Lille on Wednesday.

Suffering from an Achilles injury, the Stoke forward skipped the team’s final training session in Versailles on Tuesday morning.

Walters’ injury flared up in Ireland’s first game against Sweden, and forced him out of the following game against Belgium.

O’Neill says Walters might not recover in time for the match against Italy, which has already qualified for the last 16 as winners of Group E.

With one point from its first two games, Ireland must beat Italy to stand a chance of advancing from the group — a feat it has failed to achieve at its two previous appearances at a European Championship in 1988 and 2012.

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5:39 p.m.

Poland coach Adam Nawalka is sticking with the attacking partnership of Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik but has rejigged his defense for the team’s last Group C match against Ukraine.

Despite being the top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski has yet to get off the mark at Euro 2016.

Thiago Cionek replacing Lukasz Piszczek at the back, while Lukasz Fabianski again keeps goal, replacing the injured Wojciech Szczesny.

Ukraine, already eliminated, made five changes to the team that lost 2-0 to Northern Ireland.

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5:29 p.m.

Here are the lineups for the Group C match between Ukraine and Poland at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille:

Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov, Artem Fedetskiy, Yevhen Khacheridi, Olexandr Kucher, Bohdan Butko, Olexandr Zinchenko, Ruslan Rotan, Taras Stepanenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Roman Zozulya.

Poland: Lukasz Fabianski, Michal Pazdan, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Thiago Cionek, Tomasz Jodlowiec, Arkadiusz Milik, Robert Lewandowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Kamil Glik, Piotr Zielinski, Bartosz Kapustka.

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5:15 p.m.

Mario Gomez will lead the Germany attack to play Northern Ireland in a final Group C match at the European Championship.

Gomez replaces Julian Draxler in the lineup, letting Mario Goetze drop back to an attacking midfield role after playing as a “false nine” in a 0-0 draw against Poland.

Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich comes in for Benedikt Hoewedes at right back.

Northern Ireland is unchanged from the lineup which started in its 2-0 win against Ukraine.

Germany leads the group with four points and is sure to advance with a draw at Parc des Princes. Northern Ireland has three points and, if it loses, could yet advance to the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

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5:10 p.m.

Here are the lineups for the Group C match between Germany and Northern Ireland at Parc des Princes:

Germany: Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Jonas Hector, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Mario Goetze, Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez.

Northern Ireland: Michael McGovern, Aaron Hughes, Craig Cathcart, Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans, Jamie Ward, Corry Evans, Steven Davis, Oliver Norwood, Stuart Dallas, Conor Washington.

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5:08 p.m.

Brief clashes have erupted outside Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, with police using a water cannon and tear gas to disperse unruly Poland fans.

The scuffles on a roundabout outside the stadium followed similar confrontations in the city’s Old Port area earlier Tuesday, ahead of Poland’s European Championship match against Ukraine.

It was peaceful inside the stadium as the stands began to fill up an hour before kickoff.

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4:45 p.m.

UEFA has decided that it will replace the pitch at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille immediately after the Group E match between Italy and the Republic of Ireland on 22 June.

“The extremely difficult metrological conditions of the past few weeks (rain, humidity, lack of sunshine) have caused irreversible damage to the pitch at the stadium in Lille, in spite of a series of measures (suppression of pre-match training, use of fertilisers, seeding, mowing, light therapy and ventilation drying) put in place to regenerate the playing surface,” UEFA said.

The new pitch will be transported from the Netherlands and its installation will be completed on the afternoon of 24 June. The stadium will host a round of 16 game on Sunday and a quarterfinal match on July 1.

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4:35 p.m.

UEFA has fined Hungary 65,000 euros ($73,000) for disorder by fans at a European Championship game in Marseille.

In the run-up to Saturday’s game between Hungary and Iceland, fans clashed with stewards and some police when trying to climb a fence to enter a section behind one goal at Stade Velodrome. It was in that same section that Russians attacked England fans one week earlier.

Hungary fans then lit or threw flares or firecrackers three times: during the national anthems, when Iceland was awarded a penalty kick, and after their team scored a late goal in a 1-1 draw.

Hungary has a strong chance of advancing to the round of 16 after its last group game against Portugal on Wednesday.

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4:30 p.m.

Scuffles have briefly broken out in Marseille’s Old Port neighborhood ahead of the European Championship match between Poland and Ukraine.

Riot police fired tear gas and detained at least two people after rowdy fans threw bottles and fought in the waterfront streets that were the scene to three days of violence involving Russian and English fans and French locals early in the tournament.

The unrest quickly died down in the Old Port as the fans began walking toward the Stade Velodrome for the Group C match.

Poland supporters vastly outnumbered their Ukrainian counterparts. Outside the stadium, the atmosphere was noisy, but peaceful.

Ukraine has already been eliminated from Euro 2016 after losing its first two matches. A draw would be enough to ensure qualification for Poland, which is second in Group C, behind Germany on goal difference.

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4:10 p.m.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he will retire from international football after the European Championship.

The 34-year-old striker says ahead of Sweden’s final group game on Wednesday with Belgium that it would be his last for his country if the team gets eliminated.

Ibrahimovic says “the last game for Sweden in Euro will be my last game with Sweden, so I hope it will not be tomorrow.”

Even if Sweden loses and fails to qualify for the knockout stages, Ibrahimovic says he would not be disappointed with his international career.

He says “I’m very proud to be captain of Sweden and what I achieved.”

He added he “will not participate in the Olympics” in Rio de Janeiro.

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12:30 p.m.

UEFA will use a different match ball for the knockout rounds at the European Championship.

It’s not a punishment for the “Beau Jeu” ball which burst in the France-Switzerland game on Sunday.

UEFA says the switch was planned and follows a marketing plan for the Champions League where a new ball design is unveiled for the competition’s later stages.

Ball maker Adidas revealed on Tuesday the design of the “Fracas” ball which teams will use when the round of 16 kicks off Saturday.

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12:20 p.m.

Rory McIlroy is flying in to watch his home country Northern Ireland in a European Championship game against Germany later Tuesday.

The former No. 1 golfer has posted a photograph on his Twitter account of himself and a group of five friends boarding a private airplane.

McIlroy, who is from Holywood near Belfast, tweets “See ya soon Paris!!” He adds the hashtag with the acronym ‘GAWA,’ for the Northern Ireland fans’ label “Green and White Army.”

He is wearing a white t-shirt with the face of George Best, the late and iconic Northern Ireland and Manchester United winger.

Playing at its first major tournament in 30 years, Northern Ireland could advance to the round of 16 even if it loses at Parc des Princes today.

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12:03 p.m.

A Russian fan group leader is being kicked out of France again, days after he was deported for alleged involvement in hooliganism and slipped back in to the country illegally.

Alexander Shprygin, who is suspected of ties to the extreme right, was detained with several other Russian fans and barred from French territory last week after violence around a match in Marseille.

Shprygin left France on Saturday, then returned Monday for Russia’s match against Wales in Toulouse, apparently traveling overland from a neighboring country to avoid border controls.

He was detained again at the Toulouse stadium after tweeting about his return and posting images of himself online.

He has been ordered to leave France and is likely to fly out of Toulouse on a charter flight for Moscow on Tuesday, according to a Russian government official who was not authorized to be publicly named.

Shprygin sits on a Russian government commission overseeing Moscow’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup. He has acknowledged posting pictures of far right symbols online but says neither he nor his organization is racist.

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11:53 a.m.

The head of Russia’s football federation has blasted the country’s players for a lack of talent and desire as they exited the European Championship in the group stage.

Vitaly Mutko, who is also Russia’s Sports Minister, says fourth place in Group B with defeats to Wales and Slovakia “shows the real level of our football” ahead of a home World Cup in 2018.

Mutko tells Russian state news agency Tass that “we don’t have any top class players right now” and that “perhaps many have a lack of desire to grow, to move, to perfect themselves.”

Mutko adds Russia should focus on developing young players and improving the domestic league but “you can’t change anything in an hour.”

Germany’s Mario Gomez, right, and his teammates warm up before the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Northern Ireland and Germany at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/06/web1_110986585-d31aa78de24b4c1a81104014e99a503b.jpgGermany’s Mario Gomez, right, and his teammates warm up before the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Northern Ireland and Germany at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael Mcgovern, left, stops a shot from Germany’s Mesut Ozil during the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Northern Ireland and Germany at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/06/web1_110986585-cf32e29f5c65486eb0e090396509e49b.jpgNorthern Ireland goalkeeper Michael Mcgovern, left, stops a shot from Germany’s Mesut Ozil during the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Northern Ireland and Germany at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A Polish holds a flare as he arrives with other fans at the Velodrome stadium before the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Ukraine and Poland in Marseille, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/06/web1_110986585-e666051903ea4eeb915f3fa8974ea6ee.jpgA Polish holds a flare as he arrives with other fans at the Velodrome stadium before the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Ukraine and Poland in Marseille, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

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