The first three days of the 2020 European Championship have been action-packed to say the least, and now attention turns to Monday when fans will be treated to three excellent matches, including Scotland’s return to the main stage after 23 years away. Here’s what you’ve got to look forward to.
Scotland v Czech Republic (14:00)
Scotland play a match in a major tournament for the first time since the 1998 World Cup, kicking off the Euro 2020 action on Monday when they come up against the Czech Republic in Glasgow. Steve Clarke’s men might not be as fancied as Group D rivals England and Croatia, but with the third spot potentially being enough to advance to the round of 16, the Tartan Army will be eyeing up a vital three points at Hampden Park.
A 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in a friendly at the start of the month showed how dangerous Scotland could be in this tournament and a win against the Czech Republic would set up a tantalising showdown with England at Wembley on Friday. This match looks pretty evenly balanced with the Scots at 19/10 to triumph and the visits at 7/4 with Betfred, though write off Scotland at your own peril.
Poland v Slovakia (17:00)
Poland have recorded just one win since the turn of the year, against Andorra, and will be desperate to kick off their Euro 2020 campaign with a crucial three points against Slovakia at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg. All eyes will be on manager Paulo Sousa, who finds himself under pressure after replacing Jerzy Brzeczek at the helm of the Poland national side in January. But he does have a footballing super-weapon at his disposal in the shape of Robert Lewandowski, one of the deadliest goalscorers on the continent.
Slovakia, who performed admirably in 2016 to reach the last 16, will be confident they can repeat the feat again this time around but avoiding defeat in their opener will be an absolute must. Like their opponents, Stefan Tarkovic’s men enter this tournament in underwhelming form, winning two of their last 13 inside 90 minutes. Poland are odds-on favourites at 5/6 but given their lacklustre form at the moment, some could be tempted by Slovakia at 4/1 with Betfred.
Spain v Sweden (20:00)
The Spaniards have won this tournament three times and while there are a few teams ahead of them in the running to win this one outright, only a fool would rule them out to make it European Championship number four this summer. It’s been a pretty limp few years for Spain since back-to-back glory in the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, exiting the 2014 World Cup in the group stage, and reaching only the round of 16 in Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, so they will be looking to make their mark in Group E immediately.
Sweden, who have been eliminated at the group stage of their last three major tournaments, will be looking to emulate their Euro 2004 side which broke into the quarter-finals and, having won their last five matches going into this one, they will be full of confidence to upset the apple cart in tough a group.
