The qualifiers for the European Championship start this weekend and one of the most exciting duels in Group A is the match between England and the Czech Republic. It’s gonna take place at the Wembley Stadium, where the Three Lions have always been great. But, can the Czech Republic players make an upset? Find out in our England vs Czech Republic prediction and betting tips!
England
After doing great in the Nations League and getting a place in the semifinals which are scheduled for June, England now need to focus on booking a spot in the European Championship 2020. They play in the Group A, together with their next opponent Czech Republic, but also Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Kosovo. It’s needless to say that England are huge favorites here, especially because the two tops spots get to play on the final tournament.
Of course, the fact that their job looks rather easy does not mean they should relax. On the contrary, they need to take their job seriously. And it seems their manager Southgate has the same thing on his mind, which is why he picked a pretty tough squad for this duel. All of the guys who did well in Russia last summer got a call-up, including England’s biggest stars like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Harry Maguire, and others.
Obviously, because of this, they’re the favorite in the game with Czech Republic. However, the problem is that they haven’t yet played a single game in 2019. Actually, the last time England played an official match was in November 2018, when they beat Croatia 2:1. On the bright side, it’s a similar case with Czech Republic as well.
Czech Republic
Unlike England, Czech Republic weren’t too impressive in the UEFA Nations League. They played in the League B, in the group with Ukraine and Slovakia, but failed to get promoted. They won the two matches against Slovakia and lost both of the games played against Ukraine.
Another thing that makes them different from England is that they didn’t take part in the World Cup 2018. Instead, they played a couple of friendlies during summer. And the fact that they didn’t get qualified for the World Cup isn’t a too large surprise, considering that they don’t have too many top-class players in the team.
Actually, Czech Republic squad is made up of mostly those guys who play in the Czech Liga, particularly Sparta Praha and Slavia Praha. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they’re not good. On the contrary, many of those guys have a bright future ahead, which is what they showed already on the European stage. Slavia Praha, for example, is a team that left behind Sevilla in the Europa League. And there are 5 players from this team who got a call-up for the duel with England.
Possible Lineups
England
Pickford – Stones, Maguire, Walker, Chilwell – Dier, Barkley, Ali – Rashford, Sterling, Kane
Czech Republic
Koubek – Celustka, Kalas, Gebre Selassie, Novak – Soucek, Dockal, Jankto, Zmrhal – Vydra, Schick
England vs Czech Republic Prediction
England players need to be thought of as big favorites here. It’s not just because this team has some really big superstars in the squad, but also because the match is played at their national stadium, which has a capacity of over 90,000, meaning that the Three Lions are gonna get a lot of support from the stands.
However, this is the first game of the qualifiers and the first duel between these two in over a decade. Not to mention that the recent success of Slavia Praha in Europe League has certainly given the Czech players a big confidence boost. All of this makes me think we might see goals on both ends.
England vs Czech Republic Betting Tips
- BTS @2.70 (Unibet)
- Over 2.5 Goals @2.02 (1XBET)