England qualified for the round of 16 of Euro 2020 on Monday evening, without kicking a ball, and coach Gareth Southgate’s team is second in Group D on Tuesday against the Czech Republic, which also has four points but is proud of the goal difference. England need a win at Wembley to qualify to win the group, and a positive result is needed to finish first and second, but any pressure to qualify has been removed by results elsewhere. The euro’s advance to the round of 16 was rearranged, with Monday’s results seeing Ukraine and Finland finish third in their group with three points each, meaning that if England slipped to that spot, they would still qualify. Switzerland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France also qualified for the round of 16, and the results also mean that Scotland will surely qualify for the knockout stages if they beat Croatia on Tuesday. A Scotland win over Croatia on Tuesday would take them to four points and ensure they at least qualified as one of the top four third-placed teams, and the Tartan Army were looking for a clear winner in the match between Austria, Ukraine and Christoph Baumgartner. The strike gave rivals in World Cup qualifying Scotland a 1-0 win to seal the lead and leave Ukraine with three points, and Group B results went to Scotland with Denmark’s first win in the tournament, a 4-1 victory over Russia, and Belgium 2-0. Victory over Finland leaves the losers with three points, and Clark’s men can still finish second – if the Czech Republic beat England at Wembley and turn their three-goal deficit over their neighbours.
0 Comments