England vs Czech Republic 23/03/19

23 March 2019

England start their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign in front of the home crowd as they welcome the Czech Republic to the Wembley Stadium in London.

After finishing fourth at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Three Lions have enjoyed great success, finishing top of their respective UEFA Nations League group ahead of Spain and Croatia. Although Gareth Southgate’s players started the competition off on the wrong foot, failing to wrap up all three points in the opening two fixtures (D1, L1), they’ve managed to make things right by putting together two wins on the last two matchdays. What’s more, England have racked up a three-game winning run in the build-up to this meeting, bagging 2+ match goals in each. Another thing that can also encourage Southgate is that his players have won three successive home games, conceding just one goal along the way.

Meanwhile, the visitors have endured mixed fortunes, securing five wins while suffering as many defeats in ten of their previous outings. But, the Czech Republic come into this encounter after pulling off two back-to-back wins that have both ended with the identical 1-0 scoreline in their favor. Also, all four of Czech’s previous triumphs have seen them beating their rivals by a minimal one-goal margin. But, Jaroslav Šilhavý has to figure out how to stop his team’s ‘bleeding’ in defense, as the Lions failed to preserve a clean slate in seven of their last ten games, allowing over 1.5 match goals four times in the process.