Czech Republic
England
England
England and Czech Republic battle it out for top spot in final game of Group D
England to win 2-1
England’s campaign suffered a disappointing setback when they played out a 0-0 draw with Scotland in their second Group D match, playing with little of the passion or energy that they have become know for recently.
True, Scotland played bravely and defended well, but England will be left wondering what could have been if they had played a bit more on the front foot.
Despite this, they will still feel confident about qualifying at the top of the group, with a decider to play against the Czech Republic, also with four points from their two games.
The Czechs have the tournament’s joint-leading goalscorer so far, in Patrik Schick, and have a marginally better goal difference than the English.
They know that by avoiding defeat here, they will top the group, although they have the tools to go for the win themselves if they choose.
This should be an entertaining end to the group.
World Ranking: 40
Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Winners, 1976
Predicted Finish This Year: Round of 16
Reasons to be cheerful:
Confidence will be high in leading the group with a game to go
Mathematically impossible to finish lower than third
Reasons to be fearful:
England will be determined to bounce back after disappointing performance
Lost 5-0 to England back in qualifying
The Czechs have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament so far, especially after scoring potentially the best goal of the championship so far.
They won’t fear England here, despite the 36 places between them in the world rankings. They know that they don’t need to force the issue, with England requiring a win to overtake them in the group standings.
With no injury concerns for them to worry about, this will likely be the same side which took on Croatia, and earned a point, in their previous game.
They will have seen how poor England were going forward against Scotland, and will be looking to put up a similar kind of defensive performance.
Star Man – Patrik Schick
A penalty against Croatia means that Schick is the joint-leading scorer of the tournament, along with Ronaldo.
World Ranking: 4
Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Semi Finals, 1996
Predicted Finish This Year: Semi Finals
Reasons to be cheerful:
Performance against Scotland will have been a wake up call
Potential changes up front will bring fresh energy to the side
Reasons to be fearful:
Harry Kane is struggling badly for form
Must overcome a lack of energy
England lacked creativity against Scotland, but perhaps more worryingly, they lacked energy.
Many of their players have had long seasons in the Premier League, playing 40, 50, 60+ games for their clubs, and that fatigue showed in their last game. They must quickly find a way to freshen things up, particularly for their striker Harry Kane, who has been poor in his first two games.
Gareth Southgate is under pressure to make changes at the top of the field, with Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford only receiving a few minutes so far, and Jadon Sancho unselected completely.
At the back, Harry Maguire is expected to come into the team with the Manchester United defender now fully fit.
Star Man – Jack Grealish
The Aston Villa man must come into the team for sure. His creativity with the ball has been missing so far.
England must step up the intensity
Czechs will have no problem playing without the ball
Wing areas will be key
This is a game that England must win, not only to finish top of Group D, but also to gather some momentum behind them once more.
Wherever they finish in the group, they are likely to face a top class nation in the Round of 16. This game is about building confidence leading into the knockout phase and, ideally, helping Harry Kane find his scoring form.
As for the Czechs, they will happily take a point, but they’ll be quietly confident of spoiling the party.
England to win 2-1
