Opinion: European Championships Group D – Scotland’s Biggest Threats
Super Steve: Scotland manager Steve Clarke (pictured) became a hero to fans across the country after the National Team made their first tournament in 23 years.
For the first time in 23 years, Scottish football fans across the country will finally have a reason to put their TVs on during the Summer, with the Scotland National Team qualifying for their first international tournament since the 1998 World Cup. Steve Clarke’s men battled tirelessly throughout qualifying stages and with the passionate backing of the Tartan Army Scotland have managed to gain themselves a spot in Group D of the European Championships via the Nations League.
Fans all over the country could not be more excited to watch our boys step out onto the field, but it most definitely will not be a walk in the park. Scotland’s group contains three extremely tough challenges; there are possible favourites for the tournament England, 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia, and a tough Czech Republic side which finished above us in our Nations League Group.
With our lads coming up against some of the biggest names in football, here is an idea of who Scotland’s biggest worries should be coming into the group stages.
England
Killer-Instinct Kane: Scotland will be facing Harry Kane (pictured) in arguably the prime of his career when the rivalling nations meet.
Sadly, for Scotland, we will be coming up against arguably the strongest England side since their ‘golden generation’. With some of the most prolific attackers in the game fighting for a chance to grace the International field, Scotland will need to be more than on their toes to even stand a chance.
Harry Kane is arguably the most valued striker in the world just now. The 27-year-old is in the prime of his game and will be coming into the Euros after an astonishing league season. Kane managed to win both the golden boot and the playmaker of the season award with 23 goals and 14 assists.
Kane’s record for England is also something quite remarkable, in 43 competitive International games, the marksman has scored 29 goals. After recently revealing that he plans to leave Spurs at the end of the season the England man might be looking to improve his resume that little bit more with a dazzling Euro’s campaign.
On top of the frightening prospect of a prime Harry Kane running at Scotland’s defence, there are a plethora of world-class attackers at Gareth Southgate’s disposal. The likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden will surely all be giving Steve Clarke nightmares heading into the fixture.
Croatia
Mature Magic: Despite being 35, Luka Modric (pictured) continues to be a joy to watch in the middle of the park for both Real Madrid and Croatia.
Another incredibly tough opponent Scotland will be facing up against in June is Croatia. The 2018 World Cup runners-up will be heading to the Euros with fire in their bellies after just missing out on the chance to lift the greatest trophy in football only three years ago.
Despite losing out on a few of the players that were so vital to their 2018 campaign such as Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić, they still have a very strong side, particularly in their midfield.
Croatia’s midfield is one of the most seasoned and talented in the competition. Players such as 2018 World Cup player of the tournament and Ballon D’or winner Luka Modric, 2021 Champions League winner Mateo Kovačić, and 2020/21 Serie A winner Marcelo Brozović will all most likely be slotting seamlessly into the side.
On top of this there also a few clinical forwards Scotland will need to look out for. Although he has not had the best of seasons Ivan Perisic, a veteran of the game, will certainly be looking to cause problems for Scotland up and down their right-hand side. Alongside him is AC Milan forward Ante Rebić, who has been performing impressively all season long, contributing to a total of 18 goals in 27 games.
Czech Republic
Top Tomáš: Finishing up as West Ham’s joint-top-scorer this season, Tomáš Souček will come into the Championships full of confidence for his National Team.
A familiar opponent of Steve Clarke’s Scotland side, Czech Republic found themselves in the same group as Scotland in the Nations League. In this, Scotland managed to beat Jaroslav Šilhavý’s side twice in a row, but during this the Czech Republic had several key squad members missing due to Covid-19.
So, it is safe to say that Scotland cannot go into the fixture without some amount of caution. The Czech Republic hold a huge physical threat coming into this tournament with most of their squad physically outmatching Scotland’s players. But many of these players also have a big technical threat as well.
Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal have both had superb seasons with their club West Ham, being integral parts of the side’s campaign securing European football when many football fans could not even see them leaving the bottom half of the table. Souček was one of the standout performers in the league, contributing to 11 goals from central midfield, so he will be yet another player for Steve Clarke to seriously think about.
At the end of the day, the thing that makes watching Scotland so special for us is due to how much of an underdog we are. Our squad might not even be able to begin to compare to the favourites of the competition, but it does not mean we will not be supporting our lads any less. And who knows, maybe it will be enough for them to give our wee nation something to celebrate.