Scotland, under the leadership of Steve Clarke will play their major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France and first game of UEFA Euro 2020 against Czech Republic, one of the finalists of 1996 in a crucial uphill Group D encounter at Hampden Park in Glasgow. The previous encounter between the two European outfits took place in October last year and ended in a 1-0 victory for Scotland. However, neither of the teams can afford to drop points in this match as they eye the knockouts.
Scotland are the only team among the 24 nations participating in UEFA Euro 2020 to have qualified for Euro 2020 with a negative goal difference. The Scots are finally back after many leaps and bounds. With an impressive player list, they were able to get their back-to-back tiebreaker victories over Israel and Serbia in the semi-finals and final of the Euro 2020 playoffs. The worth noticing team comprises young players like Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour along with seasoned ones like James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Stuart Armstrong and captain Andrew Robertson. Midfielder John McGinn will play a crucial role in shaping up the team’s performance. He registered seven goals and two assists in their qualifying campaign for Euro 2020. He will partner with Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay in today’s match.
Czech Republic, the finalists of 1996 Euros, won their last game against Scotland nearly 11 years ago and therefore, will at any cost have to overcome their inconsistencies to stand a chance in the game. The Czechs qualified for this year’s Euros automatically after two wins, two loses and a draw in their previous five games and coming second in their group behind England. The team consisting of Vladimir Coufal, Vladimir Darida, youngster Adam Hlozek and Tomas Soucek are expected to put forward a bright campaign this summer.
