Euro 2020 team profile: Group D – Scotland and England

SCOTLAND

scotland national football team

Head coach: Steve Clark

Captain: Andrew Robertson

Most capped player: Kenny Dalglish (102)

Top scorer: Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish (30)

FIFA ranking: 44

European Championship appearances: 3 (first in 1992)

Best run: Quarter-finals in 1992

Group rivals: England, Croatia, and the Czech Republic

Key players: Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Stuart Armstrong, John Fleck, James Forrest, Ryan Christie.

Status: Scotland saw off Serbia in a playoff tie to qualify for their first major finals since 1996. 

They have to go through group D favorites, England, Croatia, as well as fellow group minnows, the Czech Republic in this year’s finals to progress to the knockout stages. An uphill task and you can’t bet against them not failing to get it done.

Verdict: Expect them to finish bottom of Group D.

READ: Euro 2020 team profile: Group C – Austria and North Macedonia

READ: Euro 2020 team profile: Group C – Netherlands and Ukraine

ENGLAND 

england national football team

Head coach: Gareth Southgate

Captain: Harry Kane

Most capped player: Peter Shilton (125)

Top scorer: Wayne Rooney (53)

FIFA ranking: 4

European Championship appearances: 10 (first in 1968)

Best run: Third place finishes in 1968 and 1996

Group rivals: Croatia, Scotland, and the Czech Republic

Key players: Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson.

Status: The Three Lions have blown hot and cold with various squads of very talented players in this century. They however made it as far as the third-place playoff of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, losing to Belgium.

As for European Championships, they have not been much of a force having only made the semi-final spot twice. 

They finished qualifying very well, losing only one game in the qualifying group and scoring freely, but that has always been the story of England – terrific in the qualifying phases but massively incompetent in the finals. 

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However, they are the best team in group D and we should be looking beyond the group stages for them this year. Hopefully, they’d go further beyond 2016’s last-16 stage where they were beaten 2-1 by then debutants, Iceland. 

Can England’s young generation of stars finally bring home a trophy to add to the World Cup won as far back as 1966?

Verdict: Expect them to go as far as the semis.