Route to Euro 2020
England will be well familiar with the Czechs heading into this one. The two sides faced in qualifying for the Euros, and while England romped to a 5-0 win in the first clash at Wembley, they were turned over in Prague when Zdenek Ondrasek struck a late winner.
The Czech Republic eventually finished six points off England and qualified for the Euros automatically, though they were taken fairly close by a Kosovo team who defied all expectations with their performances over the eight games.
Their form since has been mixed however, and a recent defeat to Scotland doesn t exactly bode well for their hopes, considering they face Steve Clarke s side in the opening game on Monday. They will take great confidence from the rest of that Nations League campaign though - they won the group with four wins from six.
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Kudela voted best Czech defender as UEFA racism verdict looms
Issued on:
24/05/2021 - 20:58 Despite a UEFA appeal looming on a racist slur ban Slavia Prague s Ondrej Kudela (R) has won a best defender vote in the Czech league Ian MacNicol POOL/AFP/File 1 min
Prague (AFP)
Ondrej Kudela was voted the Czech league s best defender of the season ahead of a verdict on his appeal to UEFA over a racism ban, the Football League Association (LFA) said Monday.
UEFA banned the Slavia Prague defender from international competitions for 10 games in April, following his alleged racist slur to Glasgow Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara during a Europa League game a month earlier.
This was a more comfortable win than Arsenal could have imagined. They had dealt comprehensively with Slavia, who promised far more after seizing the first-leg initiative, well before half-time and could then treat the remainder as a game management exercise. Nicolas Pépé and Bukayo Saka scored either side of Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty in a blistering six-minute spell; that was enough and Lacazette added a stylish gloss late on.
Lacazette captained Arsenal and this was one of his finest nights in the club’s shirt: the kind that makes both parties’ decisions over a new contract look all the more difficult to predict. He led from the front throughout and had done so as the teams prepared for kick-off, too.