Match previews

AFTER an entertaining set of opening fixtures in the ‘group of death’, World Cup champions France take on outsiders Hungary in Group F. After an emphatic win against Germany on Tuesday, Les Bleus will look at this fixture as a ‘must win’, with the security of knowing that three points would guarantee their spot in the last 16.
Kylian Mbappe will be the man to watch as France take on HungaryCredit: EPA
World champions France in good spirits in training as Antione Griezmann lifts up Ousmane DembeleCredit: EPA
Hungary will be playing on home soil in a jam-packed Ferenc Puskás Stadium and you can catch all the action at 2pm on BBC ONE.
What’s the form?
On paper, this should be a straight forward night for France – but we all know that in football, anything can happen – even if you are the reigning World Cup champions.
Les Bleus qualified for this tournament by topping their group, with an almost perfect record (P10 W8 D1 L1) – and got off to the perfect start to life with a comfortable win against Germany.
France boss Didier Deschamps said: “We played a great game against very good opponents.
“I knew my players would be ready and we were up for the fight.”
The french are a well oiled machine up top, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann…. the list just goes on and on.
Although Hungary were thumped 3-0 by Portugal, Marco Rossi’s side will need to look back at their valiant effort five years back at Euro 2016, where they topped their group with five points.
Impressively though, Hungary were unbeaten in their last 11 international fixtures before Portugal, with their last defeat dating back to September 2020 against Russia.
Karim Benzema made his competitive return for France vs GermanyCredit: EPA

Who’s in and who’s out?
Karim Benzema looked bang in form as he returned to the squad after spending six years in exile.
France have no injury or suspension concerns, but Deschamps may rotate with Portugal in mind next Wednesday.
Despite being huge outsiders, Hungary have several Bundesliga stars.
Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig), Willi Orban (RB Leipzig), Roland Sallai (Freiburg) and Adam Szalai (Mainz) are all key for Hungary.
However, star man Dominik Szoboszlai will miss the entirety of their campaign after failing to recover from a groin injury.
Hungary defender Willi Orban battles with Portugal’s forward Rafa SilvaCredit: AFP

Who to watch out for…
Keep and eye out for the N’Golo Kante, or the one who just doesn’t stop running.
No but really, the Frenchman has 193 recoveries in a Chelsea shirt this season, including 59 interceptions and 129 duels won.
Look out for his heat-map after the game. He covers pretty much every blade of grass.
If the game is rubbish…
From the future of football to the future of Wags, check out Kylian Mbappe’s girlfriend Alicia Aylies.
The 5ft 10in stunner from France became an overnight success and celebrity when she was crowned Miss France 2017, later representing her country at Miss Universe 2017 in Las Vegas.

Fancy a punt?
Get all your Euro 2020 ante-post tips with our tournament betting guide HERE.
Match odds

Hungary to win 9/1
The draw 4/1
France to win 3/10

To win Euro 2020 outright

France 7/2
Hungary 300/1

*All odds from Paddy Power and correct at time of publication. More

ENGLAND and Scotland square off for the 115th time and few of those occasions could have had more at stake than this.Scotland have never beaten England in a major international tournament – and would give everything for three points now after losing their Euros opener to the Czech Republic.
England celebrate as Raheem Sterling scores the winner against Croatia
Scotland skipper And Robertson looks dejected after the loss to the Czech RepublicCredit: Getty
England, meanwhile, are looking to book a last-16 place with a win here.
Not that any of that really matters… this is simply ENGLAND VERSUS SCOTLAND. And it’s live from Wembley at 8pm on ITV.
What’s the form?
It was a breeze for England in qualifying, sweeping through to the finals without a scrap, and currently on a seven-game winning streak.
The Three Lions are also unbeaten in their six previous major tournament group stage matches played on home soil – and given this one is at Wembley, well, Gareth Southgate wouldn’t want to ruin that record would he?
The Scots haven’t won in a major tournament since beating Switzerland during the Euro 96 group stage – ironically, England were also in that group.
Scotland finished third in their qualifying group but managed to overcome Serbia on penalties in a dramatic play-off to reach Euro 2020.
How Group D looks after one game with Czech Republic and England getting off to winning starts

Who’s in and who’s out?
Both Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson missed out on England’s opener and are touch and go as to whether they will be involved against Scotland.
Harry kane also suffered from a nibble against Croatia, but has been involved in first team training as of Tuesday – so you can expect the skipper to be leading the line.
John Stones and Tyron Mings were exceptional at the back along with duo Decland Rice and Kalvin Phillips in midfield against Croatia but it will be intriguing to see if Gareth Southgate starts Jack Grealish this time out.
Kieran Tierney proved to be a huge loss for Scotland on Monday although he may feature tonight.
Steve Clarke has no other worries so will be expecting big performances from the likes of Prem stars Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Scott McTominay.
“I think we should always enjoy the win and the players should enjoy what they’ve done, and the country can enjoy it for as long as they want, but we can’t, we’ve got to move on to the next one.Gareth Southgate after Croatia win

Disappointed, but we have to get ready for the next one. We’ll look at what we did right and what we did wrong. We didn’t come here for a learning experience, we came here to be competitive.Steve Clarke, after Czech loss
Who to watch out for
Among England’s catalogue of household names, Kalvin Phillips – who was a surprise choice for some – was the biggest star in the victory over Croatia.
Playing the Leeds ace as a number 8 next to Rice instead of his usual position as a sitting pivot proved a masterstroke from Southgate.
Phillips was given the responsibility of leading the press which allowed him to push higher than normal, creating gaps for players like Sterling, Mount and Foden.
Quite how differently Southgate approaches the Scottish challenge – and used Phillips – could be the key to victory here.
If the game’s rubbish…
Then check out England’s abundance of talent off the pitch – the Three Lions wags.
Anouska Santos, Luke Shaw’s partner, posed alongside fellow Wags, left to right, Charlotte Trippier (Kieran Trippier’s wife) , Megan Davison (Jordan Pickford) , Fern Hawkins (Harry Maguire) and Annie Kilner (Kyle Walker) at the Croatia game
Mia McClenaghan, Reece James’ girlfriend, enjoys the Wembley treatment
With the game being at Wembley, you can expect a full entourage to be supporting the boys as they look to carry on with their winning momentum.
And while they may not have too many in the ground it looked like half of Scotland had descended on London on Thursday as the Tartan Army marched into town.
Even if you can’t see them, you’ll probably be able to hear them…
Scotland fans arrive at King’s Cross station in LondonCredit: The Sun
The Tartan Army are ready to do battle with the Auld EnemyCredit: AFP
Fancy a punt?
Get all your Euro 2020 ante-post tips with our tournament betting guide HERE.
Match odds

England to win 2/7
The draw 4/1
Scotland 9/1

First goal-scorer

Harry Kane to score first 12/5
Raheem Sterling to score anytime 17/10
Che Addams to score anytime 5/1

To win Euro 2020 outright

England 5/1
Scotland 500/1

*All odds from Paddy Power and correct at time of publication.
Scotland fans arrive at London Euston station ahead of Euro clash with England at Wembley More

CROATIA looked a shadow of the team which reached the World Cup final in 2018 when they lost to England in their opening Euro 2020 group D fixture.England were by far the better team and Zlatko Dalić will need to get his Croatia side back firing in a must win game.
Raheem Sterling’s goal downed CroatiaCredit: Getty
Czech hero Schick celebrates his first goal vs ScotlandCredit: The Sun
Czech Republic will have a slight advantage in having already played at Hampden Park, in their 2-0 thumping of Scotland and you can catch all the action live from Glasgow at 5pm on BBC ONE.
What’s the form?
It will be all or nothing for Croatia and they will be expecting to overturn their disappointing start to life in group D after a 1-0 defeat to the hands of England.
The Croats are not the force they were back in 2018 and their recent form is not good – having lost eight of their last 12.
Jaroslav Silhavy’s Czech Republic side have blown hot and cold over the past year and have won seven from 12 since the beginning of 2020.
The Czechs however can can come into this one full of confidence after impressing against Scotland and Patrik Schick’s 50-yard wonderstrike..
“It’s always hard to play against us as we have a lot of hardworking players,” Schick said
“Scotland were a tough opponent. But I saw the goalkeeper off his line – I checked in the first half where he was standing.”

Who’s in and who’s out?
Croatia’s Dejan Lovren is expected to miss out and still hasn’t fully recovered from injury – although there are some bright signs for the 31-year-old as he is back in light training.
Both Marcelo Brozović and Mateo Kovačić were taken off late against England, but it is believed that was just a caution and that the pair will be starting come Friday.
The Czech Republic do not have any injury or suspension concerns so you can expect their squad to pick itself – with one Patrik Schick leading the line.

Of course we’ll study our opponents, but our main focus is on the performance we want to give ourselves. I’m sure they are certain they will win the game.Jiří Chytrý, Czech Republic assistant coach
Who to watch out for
Patrick Schick.
If you hadn’t heard of him before then you most certainly will have done after his second goal against Scotland.
The Bayer Leverkusen forward first broke the deadlock in their 2-0 win with a fine header, before scoring what will go down as one of the most iconic goals in the history of the European championships.
And if you haven’t seen it… Well here’s the goal. What a beauty.

If the game’s rubbish…
Then check out Mateo Kovačić’s businesswoman girlfriend Izabel Kovacic – dubbed Croatia’s ‘Shakira’.
Izabel is the founder and owner of a successful range of organic and eco-friendly baby products ‘Lunilou’, which she launched in 2015.

The 28-year-old sells the likes of baby moccasins, pillows and other accessories – alongside her older sister, Ivana Lucic.
And she also holds an economics degree after studying at the University of Zagreb.
The pair got married in June 2017 and spent a reported £250,000 on their wedding where an estimated 600 guests were invited.
Fancy a punt
Get all your Euro 2020 ante-post tips with our tournament betting guide HERE.
Match odds

Croatia to win 11/10
The draw 23/10
Czech Republic to win 5/2

Goal-scorer markets

Patrik Schick to score first 7/1
Luka Modrić to score anytime 13/5

To win Euro 2020 outright

Croatia 45/1
Czech Republic 75/1

Maya Jama says ‘Scotland v Croatia’ instead of Czech Republic during Euros show gaffe More

SWEDEN and Slovakia will lock horns for the first time in a major tournament this afternoon.Slovakia will be aiming to build on their impressive win against Poland and know that three points will put them into the last 16 of Euro 2020, regardless of results elsewhere.
Robert Mak celebrates scoring the first in the shock win over PolandCredit: Reuters
Sweden boss Janne Andersson pays his respects to Spain’s Luis Enrique during their drawCredit: Rex
You can catch all the action from Group E live from the Krestovsky Stadium in St Petersburg at 2pm on BBC ONE.
What’s the form?
Largely tipped as group outsiders, Slovakia got off to the perfect start, beating neighbouring country Poland in a thrilling 2-1 encounter, fending off one Robert Lewandowski.
“We managed to neutralise Lewandowski and score at the same time.” Slovakia boss Stefan Tarkovic said.
“Lewandowski plays a decisive role in the last third of the field, it was important to keep him out of the box.”
Tarkovic’s side come into this game on a six-game unbeaten run – although Slovakia have never beaten Sweden.
This will be the first time these two sides meet at a major tournament and Sweden, who qualified for Euro 2021 with relative ease, have been in exceptional form since, winning six of their last eight games.
They also managed to scrape a 0-0 draw with Spain last time out, although Sweden have lost their second group stage match at each of their last four major tournaments – so they will want to rectify that stat.

Who’s in and who’s out?
Sweden will come into this with a huge double injury boost, through the return of Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg – who have successfully recovered from Covid-19.
Although the Swedes had their chances against Spain, these two will provide a much needed boost to their attacking line.
“If you come and play Spain in 32-degree heat and think you’re going to outplay them, you’re totally naive,” Sweden boss Janne Andersson said
“I’m not at all ashamed of this point. If we want to take points from these types of teams, we have to play this way.”
There is a slight concern for Mikael Lustig though, who walked off in their opening game after a suspected groin injury.
Slovakia have no major injury problems, so you can expect Stefan Tarkovic to employ a similar – maybe even the same – line-up as against Poland, with Marek Hamsik and Ondrej Duda leading the line.

Who to watch out for…
Alexander Isak will be one to watch and is the sting in Sweden’s tail.
The 21-year-old was named as Young Player Of The Year over in LaLiga after impressing in the colours of Real Sociedad.
The Swedish striker enjoyed a prolific season over in Spain, netting 17 times and playing a huge hand in Sociedad’s fifth place finish.

If the game’s rubbish…
Then check out Victor Lindelof’s wag Maja Nilsson.
The pair wed in 2018, a year after Lindelof moved to Manchester United from Benfica for a reported £30million.
Maja actively supports her husband on social media but has made a name for herself through her work in marketing and her podcast, Livet På Läktaren (Life on the Stands).

Fancy a punt?
Get all your Euro 2020 ante-post tips with our tournament betting guide HERE.
Match odds

Sweden to win 3/4
The draw 23/10
Slovakia to win 15/4

Euro 2020 outright odds

Sweden 75/1
Slovakia 275/1

*All odds from Paddy Power and correct at time of publication.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic trains with Sweden despite not playing for them in Euro 2020 More