Preview: England vs Scotland
As England seeks to build on their winning start against Croatia, they face historical rivals Scotland, who are aiming to recover from their opening defeat, in a thrilling Euro 2020 Group D clash at Wembley Stadium this Friday evening.
England
The Three Lions kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-0 win over Croatia on Sunday, the 13th. This victory served partly as revenge for the 2-1 semi-final defeat against the Checkered Ones at the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
England got right into the thick of things with Manchester City's Phil Foden making the first attempt on goal. He cut onto his left for a shot which sent Croatia's goalkeeper crashing to the floor as the ball bounced off the woodwork. England continued to press, coming close again on two more occasions before Ivan Perisic fired well above the cross-bar and into the crowd.
Minutes into the second half, England picked up the lead after Kalvin Phillips wriggled his way through the Croatian defense before slipping the ball to Raheem Sterling (56') in a well-disguised fashion. 1-0!
It finished as Gareth Southgate's men picked up their sixth win in six games across all international competitions: WWWWWW. Raheem Sterling's remarkable performance will see him feature once again in Gareth Southgate's 4—2—3—1 formation on Friday, while Harry Kane should return as the centre-forward of choice.
The 27-year-old will likely keep Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin out of the starting line-up once again when England returns for their second appearance in this tournament. The Three Lions have 3 points and a goal difference of +1 after 1W, 0D & 0L.
Scotland
Left undone by the brilliance of Czech Republic's no. 10, Patrik Schick, Scotland slumped to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat on Monday, Match Day 1—their first in the tournament and in six games across all competitions: DDWDWL. The Bayer Leverkusen forward struck in both halves, leaving Scotland without any points at the end of the game on home soil.
Patrik Schick's header in the 42nd minute beat goalkeeper David Marshall just before halftime to give Czech Republic the lead. His second goal was a remarkable 50-yard strike that resulted in the Scottish goalkeeper retreating hastily, only to watch helplessly as the ball sailed into the net.
The disappointing result left Scotland's coach, Steve Clarke, turning a blind eye to the unconvincing display, as his team failed to respond to either of the goals. "I think we were competitive in the game," he remarked in his post-match interview. "Sometimes a match doesn't go your way; today was that day," he added.
Scotland has no points and a goal difference of -2 after recording 0 wins, 0 draws, and 1 loss. On Friday, Steve Clarke might adopt an attacking 4-3-3 formation after the 3-4-1-2 shape against Czech Republic failed to deliver results. Manchester United's Scott McTominay will likely retain his position in midfield, while QPR's Lyndon Dykes is expected to be part of the attack once again.
Team form
Showing the latest five games—giving you a quick look at recent performance trends. Teams in good form tend to do well in the next match.
Team Comparison
Side-by-side assessment of team statistics, including goals, attacks, and more. This allows you to directly compare key performance metrics. Analyzing these stats can reveal patterns and strengths that might influence the outcome.