England has made it to the second round of the EURO 2020. The Three Lions are hosting Czech Republic tonight in London, and both teams are now through after having won one and drawn one so far, setting this match up as a decider for top spot. The Czechs have a slight advantage as they only need a point to finish as section winners due to their superior goal difference, but that doesn’t bother the English. Their biggest problems ahead of this match are the situation with Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount, as well as the bad form of their best striker Harry Kane. A draw would also be enough for England to absolutely make sure of second place, but after being held to a goalless stalemate by Scotland, England would like to win it, and secure the first place in the group, which would give them the opportunity to play their first knockout fixture at Wembley.Wembley to host more than 60,000 fans for Euro 2020 semis and finalMount and Chilwell are to miss the game against the Czechs after being forced to quarantine following a 25-minute rendezvous with Chelsea team-mate Billy Gilmour after last Friday’s draw against Scotland. Gilmour has since tested positive for Covid and has been forced to quarantine for 10 days.”Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount must isolate up to and including next Monday (28 June). This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England. The pair were confirmed overnight as close contacts of Scotland’s Billy Gilmour after his positive COVID-19 test following last Friday’s match. Chilwell and Mount will isolate and train individually in private areas at England’s training base St. George’s Park, with the rest of the squad returning there after tonight’s fixture against Czech Republic at Wembley” said England Football association in a statement.Absolute Joke! https://t.co/EwEV4SyvbT— Gary Neville (@GNev2) June 22, 2021 That decision has been criticized heavily by the entire English public, former and current players and managers included. BBC host and former England striker Lineker commented the decision to put them into isolation: “Ridiculous. Just test them”, while former Manchester United and England right back Neville called it an ‘absolute joke’. Chelsea technical director and former Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was also left confused by the decision, insisting it is ‘incomprehensible’ that Scotland have not been disrupted.”Please could someone help me understand how is it possible for Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell – both with negative tests – have to isolate after they got in contact with Billy Gilmour while the entire Scottish team who shared the dressing room, hotel, coach and plane while travelling, dining room, meeting room is allowed to play the game without any problem because they returned the required negative tests? What is the difference between them returning the same test results? It is incomprehensible…” he posted on Instagram.The boss looks ahead to the challenge Czech Republic will pose at @wembleystadium tonight:— England (@England) June 22, 2021 But, the decision is made, so who will benefit from this? Jack Grealish for sure. Aston Villa midfielder has been on the bench so far, and he is likely to be even involved in the EURO squad since he spent most of 2021 injured. The other candidates to start are Harry Maguire, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sanco, with Kyle Walker also in the mix. While Grealish will replace Mount, Maguire could finally take his place in the starting 11, for the first time since May 9, after recovering from an ankle ligament injury. England coach Gareth Southgate is set to give either Bukayo Saka or Jadon Sancho a place instead of Phil Foden. And former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho is a big Grealish fan.”When a team lacks confidence, is playing with fears and caution, you have to play the one that doesn’t hide and the one that doesn’t hide is Grealish. He can make his mistakes, he can lose the ball but he doesn’t hide. He wants the ball. I don’t know if he vocally says “give me the ball” but if he doesn’t he does it by body language. Against Scotland, in the last 10 minutes he got two or three free-kicks, he got the team up, he tried, he got kicked, he created stability” explained Mourinho to TalkSport.Resurrected Denmark trashes Russia to seal the 1/8 finals showdown with WalesThe Czechs are pretty confident that they can pull off an upset, since they don’t have the pressure of playing at home and being one of the favorites to win the tournament.“We have four points, so that is a pretty good position for us. We know England have massive quality and top star players. But in their first games they did not create too many chances – maybe they are struggling a little bit in attack – but as a team they will be always tough to play against. So we have to prepare as well as we can and of course we want to win, get three points and secure qualification from this group” said Patrik Schick, Czech Republic forward, who already scored three goals in this tournament.Location: London Wembley StadiumReferee: Artur Soares Dias, PortugalPossible line-ups:Czech Republic: Vaclík; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Bořil; Souček, Holes; Masopust, Darida, Jankto; SchickEngland: Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice, Bellingham; Grealish, Kane, SterlingEURO 2020, Group D22:00 Croatia – Scotland22:00 Czech Republic – England
