Patrik Schick Double Delivers Blow to Scotland
Czech Republic made an impressive start to Euro 2020 with a 2-0 victory over Scotland in their own back garden. The 12,000 fans – mainly Scotland fans – in attendance were roaring from the start, but it was the Czechs that prevailed on Monday afternoon.
This was Scotland’s first European Championship appearance in 23 years, and have never progressed past the group stages. With a loss in their first game, they now face an uphill battle with two tough games coming up for them in Group D.
Scotland vs Czech Republic Euro 2020 - As It Happened
Home-crowd advantage was evident at Hampden Park in the early stages of the game, with around 12,000 Scotsman shouting from the stands. For the big occasion, it was Scotland that came out of the traps early, putting the Czech side early on.
After a cagey first few minutes, with the away side looking to get a foothold in the game, Scotland settled while controlling the ball. However, the first half-chance came from the Czech Republic. Scotland keeper David Marshall was tested early on with a near post shot, but it was easily dealt with.
T first big chance for the Tartan Army came inside the first 20 minutes, with a counter-attack led by captain Andy Robertson on the left hand side, who delivered a ball to striker Lyndon Dykes. After a flick from the Scotland striker, the ball rolled down the side netting.
Another chance from another successful counter-attack fell to Robertson just inside the box. Admittedly, it was a tame effort in the end, with Robertson deciding to try and place the ball past the keeper instead of using power. Czech’s No.1 Tomas Vaclik was quick to react, turning it behind for a set-piece that didn’t result in anything.
Schick Breaks the Deadlock
With less than five minutes to go, a set-piece caused problems for Scotland’s defence. A Scotland flick temporarily cleared the ball to the right flank of Czech Republic, and with some slow defending, the ball was crossed back in by West Ham right-back Vladimir Coufal.
Czech striker Patrik Schick beat his man to the ball with a towering header, glancing it into the far corner past Marshall. 1-0 to the away side.
There was a shout – albeit a small shout – for a penalty after Scott McTominay bounded into the penalty area in the dying seconds of the first half, and collided with a Czech player. The appeals were quickly waved off before a VAR check confirmed the ‘no penalty’ call.
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The Second Half
Scotland needed to change something up after a very average first 45 minutes, and that change came in the form of Southampton striker Che Adams. Everyone could see he made an instant impact in the first few moments of the half.
It was a very fast tempo restart after the break, with both teams pressing for an early goal. Czech Republic were the ones who came out on the front foot, but then Scotland’s Jack Hendry hit the crossbar at the other end from the edge of the area. All of this happened before the clock hit 48 minutes – a very exciting start to the second half.
Then, just a minute later, it’s almost a horror show at the back for Czech as Tomas Kalas almost loops it over his own keeper, but Vaclik is there once again to claw it away from goal.
Schick Enters Goal of the Tournament Competition
With just over 50 minutes played in the game, Leverkusen’s Schick doubled his tally to put the away side 2-0 up. We would love to try and describe this one, but not sure we could do it justice. You can watch the full highlights here (skip to 1:57 for the outrageous goal):
Highlights: Schick stunner helps Czech Republic beat Scotland | UEFA Euro 2020
The second goal definitely urged Scotland up the pitch to go all out and look for a goal back, Lyndon Dykes should have had a goal as the ball dropped to him on the 6 yard line, but Vaclik was able to save with his feet.
Towards the latter stages of the game, it was Czech who looked the more threatening, with Scotland giving it their all. Schick could have potentially had the first hat-trick of Euro 2020, but a rather tame shot ends up as a comfortable save for Marshall.
Scotland substitute James Forrest made a mazy run into the box before 85 minutes, but his shot was blocked, with the away side coping with everything that was thrown at them by the hosts.
Full-time - Scotland 0 – 2 Czech Republic.
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What’s Next For the Two Sides?
Both of the teams will next play on Friday, with the first game of Group being Czech Republic up against Croatia. Then, at 8pm GMT, it’s the big one: England vs Scotland at Wembley Stadium.
Luckily for you, later this week, we’ll be bringing you a preview of the big game on Friday night, along with our expert tips and where to find the best betting odds for Euro 2020. Keep a lookout for the latest Euro 2020 odds and updates right here at Betting.co.uk!
