Croatia looking for first Euro 2020 points as they take on the Czech Republic at Hampden Park; Sweden will be looking to follow up a hard-fought draw with Spain when they host Group E leaders Slovakia, who shocked Poland in their opening game
Saturday 19 June 2021 00:26, UK
While all eyes in the UK will be on England vs Scotland, there are two other games at Euro 2020 on Friday, including Croatia vs Czech Republic in Group D.
Croatia will be out to produce a response following a 1-0 defeat by England at Wembley in their opening Euro 2020 Group D match, while the Czechs could secure a place in the knockout stage with victory after beating Scotland on Monday.
Despite impressing at Hampden, Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy said his men still have work to do to get out of the group.
"Croatia have players who like playing the ball, combine and build up attacks from the back. If they have their good day, they will be very tough opponents for us," Silhavy said. "I still consider them among two favourites of our group and we are the third ones behind.
"Our desire is clear - we want to qualify from the group. A point out of two games might be enough, but we do not want to play for a draw.
"Croatia were runners-up in the World Cup with top-quality individuals from big clubs. If we want to succeed, we need another excellent team performance with some extra bits. This is the only way to win."
For Croatia, they will be aiming for a far improved performance from a rather limp defeat to England.
"There will be changes as we have to show much more intent and purpose up front if we are to stand any chance of beating the Czechs," Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said.
"We need to rediscover our attacking threat. The Czechs are great at breaking out of defence with six or seven players but that will also allow us to counter-attack.
"They are in a comfortable position having won their opening game and we are not, but we always got going when the going got tough in the past and I am optimistic because our fate is still in our own hands."
In Group E, there is a shock leader as Slovakia lead the way after their superb 2-1 win against Poland in their opening game.
"It looks like we are the favourites, first in our group after the first round, but we are still the outsiders of this group," Marek Hamsik told reporters on Thursday.
"This is the way to approach it - nobody will give us anything for free, no victory or points, we can only win that by a good performance on the pitch, just the way we did against the Poles."
They take on Sweden on Friday, who themselves battled to a hard-fought goalless draw against Spain in their curtain-raiser, with both sides in confident form heading into the second game of the group.
"They have played in a clear way in a number of games now, our analysis is that it's not a Spain type of game that we'll meet, it'll be a different type of game," Sweden coach Janne Andersson said.
"We expect to have a little more ball in the build-up phase and we'll have to drive the match forward more. They sit quite deep and they are very good in their counter-attacking phase... I believe they'll back home a bit, but you can never know for sure."
"We are very secure in ourselves... People will always have opinions, criticism or not, somewhere our basic feeling is that we took a point from Spain away in our Euro opener, which as a result is good for us and gives us opportunities," Sebastian Larsson added.
Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia; Kick-off 2pm (St Petersburg)
Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic; Kick-off 5pm (Glasgow)
Group D: England vs Scotland; Kick-off 8pm (London)
Sweden vs Slovakia: Sweden winger Dejan Kulusevski has returned to the squad following a positive Covid-19 test but may not feature against Slovakia. Midfielder Matthias Svanberg is still isolating following a positive test.
Slovakia will be without defender Denis Vavro, who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Croatia vs Czech Republic: The Czech Republic have no new concerns, but injured goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka has been replaced in the squad by Tomas Koubek.
Croatia defender Dejan Lovren is hopeful of being available following a knee problem but Rangers left-back Borna Barisic will not be available as he continues to manage a persistent back problem. Dalic has also suggested he would make wholesale changes to the starting line-up.
England vs Scotland: Gareth Southgate has said Harry Maguire will be involved in the England squad, having been out since May with an ankle injury.
"We are really pleased with his progress, he has trained with the team for four or five days now and he has had no reaction," he said.
"He is on a really good path. We want everyone available, it causes difficult decisions but we have 26 players on the training pitch and that is a great position to be involved in."
Steve Clarke declared Kieran Tierney fit and available for Scotland. The Arsenal defender missed the 2-0 defeat by Czech Republic at Hampden Park in the Group D opener with a niggle.
Clarke said: "It is good news for Kieran, good news for us and good news for the Scottish supporters. Hopefully we can back all that up with a good result. He has trained fully the last two days. He is available for the whole game."
Group D: For England, the equation is simple. If Gareth Southgate's side beat Scotland they will be through to the last 16. They will be confirmed in the top two of the group if they secure victory over Scotland at Wembley on Friday and Croatia do not beat Czech Republic. It's also a huge game for Steve Clarke's side, who will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose to England and Croatia do not beat Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Czech Republic, who beat Scotland in their opener, will be through to the knockout stages if they beat Croatia. They will be confirmed in the top two if they win and Scotland do not beat England. For Croatia, they will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose to Czech Republic and Scotland do not beat England.
Remaining fixtures:
Friday June 18 - Croatia vs Czech Republic; Kick-off 5pm (Glasgow), England vs Scotland; Kick-off 8pm (London)
Tuesday June 22 - Czech Republic vs England; Kick-off 8pm (London), Croatia vs Scotland; Kick-off 8pm (Glasgow)
Group E: Slovakia stunned Poland in their tournament opener and they will be through if they beat Sweden on matchday two. They will be confirmed as group winners if they win and Spain fail to beat Poland.
Meanwhile, Spain and Sweden still have plenty of work to do after their 0-0 draw. They cannot be confirmed in the top two or eliminated after the next round of matches.
Finally, the pressure is firmly on Poland, who will not be able to finish in the top two if they lose to Spain on Saturday.
Remaining fixtures:
Friday June 18 - Sweden vs Slovakia; Kick-off 2pm (St Petersburg)
Saturday June 19 - Spain vs Poland; Kick-off 8pm (Seville)
This will be the 115th match between England and Scotland, and their 100th in a competitive fixture. Their only previous meeting at a major tournament was in the group stages of Euro 1996, also at Wembley; England won 2-0, with goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Gascoigne. Current England head-coach Gareth Southgate played all 90 minutes.
England are facing Scotland at Wembley for the 33rd time, nearly twice as many as any other fixture involving England there (18 games vs Northern Ireland & Wales). None of the previous 32 encounters have ended goalless.
Scotland have won only one of their last 11 matches against England (D2 L8), in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley in November 1999 (1-0, goal by Don Hutchison).
The four games played between England and Scotland this century have produced 16 goals (11 for England, 5 for Scotland), an average of four goals per match.
Czech Republic have never beaten Croatia (D2 L1). Their three previous meetings have produced 12 goals, an average of four per game.
Croatia and Czech Republic have met once previously at a major tournament, in the group stages of Euro 2016. The game ended 2-2, with the Czechs coming back from 2-0 down to secure their only point of the group phase.
This will be the first meeting between Sweden and Slovakia at a major tournament (European Championship + World Cup).
Slovakia have never beaten Sweden in their five previous encounters (D3 L2), with their last four games never producing more than two goals.
Both Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer and France forward Kingsley Coman have left their camps for the births of their respective children.
The Swiss soccer federation said Sommer left for Germany, where he plays for Borussia Monchengladbach, after the teams 3-0 loss to Italy on Wednesday in Rome.
It was unclear if Sommer will return for the final Group A game Sunday against Turkey in Baku. Switzerland needs a win to advance to the round of 16.
The decision for Coman to leave was authorised by coach Didier Deschamps and the French Football Federation (FFF) gave the Bayern Munich winger permission after consultation with UEFA.
"All precautions have been taken, particularly in terms of health," the FFF said.
Coman, 25, was an unused substitute in France's 1-0 win over Germany in their Group F opener on Tuesday. They next take on Hungary at the Puskas Arena on Saturday.
While England and Scotland go toe to toe at Wembley, Wales will be continuing their preparations for their final group game against Italy.
After a 23-year wait, Scotland's first match back at a major international tournament ended in defeat, with Steve Clarke's side going down 2-0 to Czech Republic at Hampden Park.
We get reaction to the result and performance from former Scotland international James McFadden and Famous Tartan Army Magazine editor Iain Emerson, who joined Sky Sports News reporter Charles Paterson after the game for the latest Sky Sports Football Euros Podcast.
There's debate and discussion about the chances which came and went for Scotland, the mistakes at the back, the impact of "world-class" Kieran Tierney's injury - and whether Scotland can bounce back in the mouth-watering match-up with England at Wembley on Friday.
And finally… was Patrik Schick's halfway-line strike better than Zinedine Zidane's volley at the same stadium? Or McFadden's goal in Paris?!
Mark McAdam has got the boys back together. The reporter has tracked down England's stars of Euro 96 - and, ahead of England vs Scotland at Euro 2020, they tell us the inside story of the famous clash between the two teams at Wembley 25 years ago.
Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp, Gareth Southgate, Teddy Sheringham, Paul Ince and Stuart Pearce lift the lid on what it was like inside the England dressing room before that dramatic match, the key turning points in the contest, and how the victory ultimately propelled England to the semi-finals.
For more behind the scenes stories of England's adventures at Euro 96, you can watch The Boys of 96 on Sky Sports News and the Sky Sports YouTube channel.
