England Kept Quiet By Scotland
19 June, 2021
England 0-0 Scotland
England and Scotland could not be separated in their Group D encounter after playing to a goalless draw on Friday evening.
The Three Lions made two changes from the narrow win over Croatia, as Reece James and Luke Shaw were recalled as the Tartan Army were boosted by the return of Kieran Tierney while youngster Billy Gilmour got his begin.
The overall game got off to a frantic start as John Stones came near to giving England the lead in the 11th minute with a towering free header that came off the post.
At the other end, Stephen O'Donnell came close to breaking the deadlock for Steve Clarke's charges on the half-hour mark with a first-time volley that was brilliantly parried away by shot-stopper Jordan Pickford.
After a scoreless first half, Gareth Southgate's men were fired up following the break as Mason Mount forced a save out of shot-stopper David Marshall two minutes in to the second stanza but England had to thank Mings for not going an objective behind in the 62nd minute after he headed Lyndon Dykes' looping strike off the line from a rebound in the box.
Southgate made his first change soon after that, bringing on Jack Grealish instead of Phil Foden and with 16 minutes remaining, England made another substitution, as Marcus Rashford replaced Harry Kane.
With Scotland defending deep in the dying minutes, the Three Lions were unable to carve out space in the ultimate and were forced to stay for a share of the spoils ultimately.
Croatia 1-1 Czech Republic
Croatia remain with out a win at EURO 2020 after drawing 1-1 with Czech Republic in Group D on Friday evening.
The Chequered Ones made two changes from the defeat against England, as Dejan Lovren and Josip Brekalo returned while two-goal hero in a win against Scotland, Patrik Schick continued to lead the line for the Czechs.
After a quiet start, Ivan Perisic had a chance to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute after acquiring a cut-back unmarked on the edge of the box but his low effort was smothered by shot-stopper Tomas Vaclik.
There was controversy 10 minutes before time following the referee awarded Czech Republic a penalty, following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review after Lovren accidentally elbowed Schick on the facial skin inside box and Schick composed himself to take the spot-kick and sent goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic the wrong manner.
Ante Rebic had a large chance to level matters for the Chequered Ones straight from the restart after going clear on goal on the left side of the box but blazed his effort wide and Jaroslav Silhavy's men visited the half-time break leading by an odd goal.
Croatia had a perfect start in the next stanza after Ivan Perisic snatched the equaliser two minutes from the break with a thumping strike into the far post after an instant free-kick by Andrej Kramaric sent him through on goal.
The Chequered Ones had the momentum plus they made a change in the 62nd minute, as Nikola Vlasic replaced Kramaric as the Czechs made a double tactical change in the same moment, as Adam Hlozek came on for Lukas Masopust and Alex Kral replaced Tomas Holes.
Nikola Vlasic almost gave Croatia the lead in the 73rd minute after a good turn inside box but dragged his shot wide before Hlozek sent his effort over the bar at the other end.
In the end, neither side had the killer instinct plus they settled for the share of the spoils, with the Czechs on the brink of qualification going back 16 while Croatia will need to win their last group game against Scotland to stand any potential for progressing.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za