Mario Gomez opened the scoring for Germany with a 30th minute strike (All images courtesy: AFP)

Germany had more than 70 percent possession in the second half but failed to add to their lead

Goalkeeper Michael McGovern (right) put in a heroic performance for Northern Ireland as he pulled off numerous saves to minimise the arrears

Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Goetze endured another frustrating outing and was substituted in the 55th minute

Germany topped Group C thanks to their 1-0 win and marched into the knockout stage

Despite the loss, Northern Ireland fans had something to cheer about as their team made it to the last 16 as one of the top third-placed teams

Northern Ireland's coach Michael O'Neill made it clear that his team would rather face Wales than hosts France in the last 16

Meanwhile, defending champions Spain suffered their first loss in 12 years at the European Championships after going down 2-1 to Croatia

Spain took the lead as early as the 7th minute with Alvaro Morata pouncing on Cesc Frabregas' pass

Nikola Kalinic brought Croatia back on level terms with a 45th minute strike

Sergio Ramos had a golden chance to give Spain the lead again but his spot-kick was saved by Croatian goalie Danijel Subasic

The defending champions were made to pay for their miss as Ivan Perisic scored a 89th minute winner to help Croatia leapfrog Spain into the top spot in Group D

Vicente del Bosque's side finished second in Group D and will now take on Italy, who last won the European Championships in 1968, in the last 16