England are in the midst of a golden generation. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jadon Sancho, and a host of young Englishman are powering Gareth Southgate’s national team.
England ended the World Cup with a fourth-place finish. They have also qualified for the UEFFA Nations League semi-finals this summer. Could winning the Euro 2020 tournament be on the cards for the Three Lions?
The English’s journey to the Euro 2020 tournament starts on Friday at Wembley against the Czech Republic. Southgate continues to call-up young English players deserving of places in the team. It is a major shift from the England teams of the past when managers continually called up the same old style, ineffective players.
Sancho, who has been a revelation for Borussia Dortmund, is already impressing teammates in training. Defender Declan Rice has also received a place in the squad as has Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was forced to withdraw from the team due to an injury. Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse has taken Henderson’s place. Despite Henderson’s absence, Southgate has a squad full of talent.
England have lost just once in their last six matches. That loss came at the hands of Spain in their first match following the World Cup. Even then, England played well in defeat. The Three Lions have won three straight games with victories over Spain, the United States, and Croatia to end 2018. All three games featured more than 2.5 goals.
The Czech Republic have missed out on the last three World Cup tournaments. However, they have had far more success in the European Championship tournament. The Czech Republic have qualified for the last six Euro tournaments and famously finished third at the 2004 event in Portugal.
Manager Jaroslav Silhavy will hope his side can perform better than at the 2016 Euro tournament. The Czech Republic finished 21st and failed to tally a victory at the tournament for the first time ever. The Czechs played 10 times in 2018. Despite starting the year shaky in the China Cup and friendlies, Silhavy’s team found form in the UEFA Nations League. The Czech Republic competed in League B Group 1 against Ukraine and Slovakia. The team managed six points from four fixtures to finish second in the group.
Their last six international matches in all competitions have ended in three wins and three losses. Their last three games (two wins, one loss) all ended in fewer than 1.5 goals.
England go into the fixture as the bookies’ favourite. They will come away with a solid win against the Czech Republic thanks to an exciting group of young players. The Three Lions will pick up the victory with over 2.5 goals scored.