Montengero vs England 26/03/19

26 March 2019

Montenegro welcome England to the Podgorica City Stadium for the second fixture of Group A of the European Championship qualifiers.

The hosts were held to a 1-1 road draw to Bulgaria in the opening match thanks to the referee’s terrible decision to award a penalty to Bulgaria. After finishing third in their respective UEFA Nations League group, the Brave Falcons have to wrap up one of the top two places in this qualifying group to reach their elusive first Euro. However, Montenegro’s performances in the past 12 months indicate it will be a rather daunting prospect. Ljubisa Tumbakovic’s men have pulled off just two triumphs in their last ten games (W2, D4, L4), failing to secure victory in the successive outings in the build-up to this meeting (D1, L2). Their main problem is related to uninspiring displays in the final third that have seen Montenegro score 2+ match goals barely twice in their previous nine games.

Meanwhile, the visitors have swept the Czech Republic aside with a commanding 5-0 home win on the opening matchday. The Three Lions have racked up a four-game winning run ahead of this clash, scoring over 1.5 goals per match in each success. Apart from a lethal attack, Gareth Southgate can also be happy about his team’s work in defense as England managed to keep a clean sheet in four of their last six games, allowing 2+ match goals only once in the process. Additionally, Southgate’s men are unbeaten in all five of their previous road clashes (W4, D1) having failed to preserve a clean slate only once during the run.