Steve Clarke's Scotland playing in first major tournament since 1998; Poland face Slovakia while Spain start against Sweden
Monday 14 June 2021 16:33, UK
Twenty-five years after their last European Championships, Scotland will get their Euro 2020 campaign under way against the Czech Republic on Monday.
Steve Clarke's side had a dramatic route to this summer's showpiece, beating both Israel and Serbia on penalties to reach their first major tournament since 1998.
There are parallels between their last Euros in 1996 and this year's delayed tournament - Scotland have been drawn in the same group as old foes England and will play them at Wembley on Friday.
But before then, Scotland will get their Euro 2020 journey off the ground by hosting the Czech Republic at Hampden Park on Monday afternoon.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke says the pressure will be off his side when they begin their Euro 2020 campaign at Hampden Park.
"I think when you qualify for the first time in 23 years, you probably feel a little bit less pressure," said Clarke. "We have done well to be in the tournament. We are looking forward to it.
"We are going to go and give our best and give our all in every single game. And we are going to try and make the next step to the knockout stages, which would be a first for the men's national team.
"The country, the Tartan Army, they can get over-excited for us. We have to be excited to be involved in the tournament, but we have to keep emotional control so when we get to the match we play to our full potential."
The Czech Republic will be eager to end a winless run stretching back to 2011 against Scotland and coach Jaroslav Silhavy appears to be expecting a physical test.
"We know what to expect - tough one-on-ones, a sturdy opponent with straight-forward counters - and we have to be fully focused for 90 minutes."
Elsewhere in Group E, all eyes will be on Poland and Robert Lewandowski as he hopes to bring his dazzling club form to the European stage. But they are in a tough group, with Slovakia having made it to the knockout rounds in 2016, having played England and Wales in the group stages.
Spain and Sweden know each other pretty well too. They met in the European Qualifiers - Spain winning at home and drawing away in Solna - and have once again been drawn together in Group E, though Janne Andersson's side will
Spain often play their home games in Seville and are doing so again on Monday at the La Cartuja Stadium, having gone unbeaten on home turf since October 2018. Sweden will be hoping to emulate their quarter-final appearance at the 2018 World Cup but there will be no big return for the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Sebastian Larsson will captain Sweden and after his team-mates gathered at training with a banner that read 'Fight, Christian', he spoke poignantly in a pre-match press conference dominated by Christian Eriksen's condition.
"When something like that happens, there are no rivals or different nationalities - just colleagues and fellow human beings."
Group D: Scotland vs Czech Republic; Kick-off 2pm (Glasgow)
Group E: Poland vs Slovakia; Kick-off 5pm (St Petersburg)
Group E: Spain vs Sweden; Kick-off 8pm (Seville)
Scotland vs Czech Republic: Clarke says he has settled on his starting XI, with big decisions around who starts in goal and whether Billy Gilmour gets the nod from the off. Werder Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka has left the Czech squad through injury but Silhavy has a full complement otherwise.
Poland vs Slovakia: Poland have struggled with injuries, missing Arkadiusz Reca, Krystian Bielik, Jacek Goralski, Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik. Jan Bednarek trained on his own on Sunday after a problem but hopes to be fit. Ivan Schranz is a worry for Slovakia with a thigh injury.
Spain vs Sweden: Spain will be without Sergio Busquets following his positive coronavirus test but Diego Llorente's own result proved to be a false positive and after vaccinations and negative tests, Luis Enrique is hopeful of fielding a string XI. what appeared a Sweden will check on Albin Ekdal and Jens Cajuste after they precautionary missed part of training but Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg have been forced to isolate and will be absent.
John McGinn: This is the most talented group Scotland have boasted for some time, sprinkled with Premier League star quality, but it is box-to-box Aston Villa midfielder McGinn who has so often provided that vital ingredient of goals. He scored seven in eight qualifying appearances. No other player scored more than one.
Tomas Soucek: Shortlisted for Premier League player of the season, look no further than Soucek for the Czech's chief threat. Not only has he demonstrated for West Ham his ability to provide a solid defensive presence at the back during corners and free-kicks, Soucek has been a revelation in attack, his goals helping the Hammers seal European qualification.
Gerard Moreno - The 29-year-old scored 30 goals for Villarreal and helped them win the Europa League this season, but even at his age, Moreno is still untested in a major competition. The same doubt goes for Mikel Oyarzabal, who helped Real Sociedad win the postponed 2020 Copa del Rey title in April. Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati is injured. Alvaro Morata has 19 goals in 39 appearances for Spain, but the Juventus striker has never excelled at a major tournament.
Robert Lewandowski - Poland's hopes of a memorable tournament are likely to rely heavily on Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 53 goals in 46 games for club and country this season after breaking the record number of goals in a Bundesliga campaign with champions Bayern Munich.
Scotland have won each of their last three matches against the Czech Republic, their longest current winning run against any of the other 23 nations qualified for Euro 2020. It's the first meeting between both sides at a major tournament (World Cup or European Championship).
This will be Scotland's 11th appearance at major tournament (World Cup + Euros), including their first Euro participation since 1996. They have never progressed past the group stages in any of their previous 10.
The Czech Republic are taking part in their 10th UEFA European Championship (Czechoslovakia included), including their seventh in a row - an uninterrupted streak since 1996; only Germany (13) and France (8) are currently on longer such runs.
Spain have lost only two of their last 16 games at the UEFA European Championships (W11 D3) with those two defeats coming in their last two matches (vs Croatia & Italy, June 2016).
Sweden have only kept one clean sheet in their last 12 encounters with Spain - it was in a European Championship qualifier back in October 2006 (2-0, goals from Johan Elmander and Marcus Allback). Incidentally, this was also Sweden's last victory against La Roja.
Poland have won only one of their last nine opening games at a major tournament (D4 L4), it was against Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 (1-0).
Poland were the only team never to trail at any point of a game at Euro 2016 (normal + extratime). They were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals.
Look out for Didier Deschamps' news conference on Monday evening after a squabble over who is - or rather isn't - passing to whom in the France camp.
Olivier Giroud suggested after France beat Bulgaria in a friendly that he was not receiving the ball, despite his runs into the area - comments that were interpreted as a dig at Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe tried to shrug off the scrutiny ahead of Tuesday's clash with Germany but admitted his annoyance that Giroud had aired his grievance in public.
"Frankly what he said doesn't bother me. He is expressing an opinion when he speaks. It doesn't bother me. I'm a striker and I've had this feeling 365 times in a game and I will have it again, when you feel you're not getting the service (of the ball).
"It's more about making it public. I congratulated him for scoring in the changing room, he didn't say anything to me and then I heard from the press. He didn't say anything bad... but making it (the argument) public...I would have preferred to let him come and be even more vocal in the changing room.
"I don't want this preparation, which has started well to be spoiled or for the squad to be affected because the squad doesn't need this. We have some difficult challenges to face and we don't need to create our own obstacles."
While Scotland gear up for their opener - Sky Sports News will be live throughout the day from Hampden Park - England will be back at St George's Park to recover and start preparing for their big meeting with Steve Clarke's side on Friday.
Wales will hold an open training session as they look ahead to a crunch clash of their own against Turkey in Baku on Wednesday.
