You have to feel sorry for Celtic’s very own Artur Boruc. He isn’t exactly playing for the best of sides is he? Poland’s defence in their 2-0 defeat to Germany was awful at times. In what was his country’s opening game of the 2008 European Championships, they were thoroughly outplayed with Lukas Podolski scoring twice to ensure Germany made a positive start to the tournament.

In all honesty though, it could have been a lot more. Boruc certainly played his part with a couple of fine saves - showing his undoubted quality. His most notable incident occurred after 69 minutes when he saved a Michael Ballack strike superbly. The Chelsea midfielder struck the ball fiercely towards goal, but the Celtic keeper acrobatically turned his shot over the bar. It was the save of a top class keeper.

That wasn’t the only time Germany could have extended their lead though, they wasted a golden opportunity in the first half when Miroslav Klose only had Boruc to beat but decided to pass to a surprised Mario Gomez, who put the ball wide of the target from close range. The lack of organisation from the Polish defence was clear to see and as much a Boruc was screaming at them in frustration - it obviously didn’t have the desired effect.

With regards to Poland’s chances in the rest of the tournament, it would be one of your safer football bets if you stuck some money on them not progressing past the group stage. They have Austria and Croatia left to play and I don’t think they showed enough yesterday to suggest that they will get anything from these games.

In Sunday’s other game, Croatia looked a well organised side in their 1-0 victory over co-hosts Austria. They were forced to grind out the result and did just that - even if it wasn’t in the most spectacular of fashion. A win is a win though and I think they showed enough attributes to suggest they will overcome Boruc’s Poland when the sides meet on 16th June.

Just a quick note on a ‘man to watch’ during this tournament - Croatia’s Luka Modric looked a very accomplished player. He will be playing for Tottenham Hotspur next season and I would bet on Euro 2008 being a successful time for the creative midfielder. Keep an eye on him.

Considering that Boruc was clearly man of the match for Poland in their tournament opener, it is a shame his team performed as they did. Boruc will probably only have two more chances to shine, but has shown enough already to suggest that Celtic have themselves a fantastic keeper.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink will hopefully make a similar impact when Holland take on Italy in their Group C match tonight, in what should be a cracking game between two talented sides. Let’s just hope the Celtic striker gets his chance and gets on the score sheet against the Italians.

Tuesday sees the past and present of Celtic’s strike force go head to head. Henrik Larsson’s Sweden take on Giorgos Samaras’ Greece in Salzbyrg and I will be watching with interest regarding the roles of these two strikers. More on this and the Italy v Holland game in my next instalment on Wednesday.