Match Preview
England and Czech Republic will clash in a mouth-watering UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley on Friday. The teams are placed in Group A with Bulgaria, Kosovo and Montenegro, and will be playing their first game in a bid to cement automatic qualification to next year's mega event.
England, who are the home side Friday, will enter the contest as firm favourite after having an outstanding 2018. The Three Lions not only managed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final, but also cemented their place in the last-four of the inaugural UEFA Nations League. Gareth Southgate's men have just faced one defeat in their last six matches, winning four over that span. However, the team suffered a massive blow ahead of the match, as young Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was ruled out due to injury.
On the other hand, Czech Republic's form of late does not make pretty reading, as the team suffered three defeats and won three matches out of the last six. Therefore, manager Jaroslav Silhavy will have to find a way to make sure his team will fire on all cylinders if they are to produce a positive result.
Both teams have only competed once before – in a friendly back in 2008 – which ended with a 2-2 draw.
Expected Lineups
England: Jordan Pickford (G), Kyle Walker (D), Harry Maguire (D), Michael Keane (D), Danny Rose (D), Ross Barkley (M), Eric Dier (M), Dele Alli (M), Jadon Sancho (M), Raheem Sterling (M), Harry Kane
Match Preview
England and Czech Republic will clash in a mouth-watering UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley on Friday. The teams are placed in Group A with Bulgaria, Kosovo and Montenegro, and will be playing their first game in a bid to cement automatic qualification to next year's mega event.
England, who are the home side Friday, will enter the contest as firm favourite after having an outstanding 2018. The Three Lions not only managed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final, but also cemented their place in the last-four of the inaugural UEFA Nations League. Gareth Southgate's men have just faced one defeat in their last six matches, winning four over that span. However, the team suffered a massive blow ahead of the match, as young Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was ruled out due to injury.
On the other hand, Czech Republic's form of late does not make pretty reading, as the team suffered three defeats and won three matches out of the last six. Therefore, manager Jaroslav Silhavy will have to find a way to make sure his team will fire on all cylinders if they are to produce a positive result.
Both teams have only competed once before – in a friendly back in 2008 – which ended with a 2-2 draw.
Expected Lineups
England: Jordan Pickford (G), Kyle Walker (D), Harry Maguire (D), Michael Keane (D), Danny Rose (D), Ross Barkley (M), Eric Dier (M), Dele Alli (M), Jadon Sancho (M), Raheem Sterling (M), Harry Kane (F)
Czech Republic: Jiri Pavlenka (G), Pavel Kaderabek (D), Ondrej Celustka (D), Theodor Gebre Selassie (D), Tomas Kalas (D), Borek Dockal (M), Jakub Jankto (M), Tomas Soucek (M), David Pavelka (M), Matej Vydra (F), Patrik Schick (F)
Combined XI
Players to Watch
Theodor Gebre Selassie (D): Gebre Selassie is the most experienced player in the current Czech Republic squad with 52 appearances for the country. The 32-year-old is also one of the four players in the squad who are aged 30 or above. Gebre Selassie plays for German club Werder Bremen, where he is averaging 1.5 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 3.0 clearances per game this season. Those numbers suggest that Gebre Selassie is the backbone of Czech Republic's defensive line, and manager Jaroslav Silhavy will be hoping his star man will produce another stellar performance to counter the threat of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
Raheem Sterling (M): England's Raheem Sterling was always highly-rated and tipped to become a real star. At the age of 24, Sterling is surely living up to the hype and is now becoming one of the best young players in the continent in his position. Sterling has been in tremendous form for his club, Manchester City, scoring 15 goals and providing nine assists in 24 appearances this season.
Harry Kane (F): England's Harry Kane is being rated as one of the best at his position. The 25-year-old is having another great season in front of the goal for his club, Tottenham Hotspur, as he has 17 goals and four assists in 25 appearances in the Premier League. For his national team, Kane's form is no different over the last 12 months, as he scored seven goals and provided two assists in 10 appearances.
Captain pick: Raheem Sterling
Vice-captain pick: Harry Kane
