Qualification for the 2020 European Championships begins this weekend and to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament the field will expand to 24 teams, meaning the top two from each qualifying group advance automatically.
England will aim to maintain their strong form. Fresh off sealing a spot in the Nations League semi-finals and a fourth-place finish at last year’s World Cup, Southgate’s team look to get their campaign off to a fast start.
The Czech Republic were absent from the World Cup and finished second in their Nations League group. Losing twice to Ukraine, the Czechs managed two victories over Slovakia, winning 1-0 in the last group game to avoid relegation to League B.
GIVEMEBET takes a look at the talking points ahead of Friday’s match at Wembley:
- Captain Harry Kane fired England to the Nations League semi-final with the winning goal against Croatia. The skipper has hit the back of the net in his last three matches for Spurs and Kane is 12/5 to score the first goal.
- England left it late against Croatia, scoring twice in the final third of the match. Against Spain and the USA, however, they took the lead early, showing they are capable of scoring anytime. England to score in both halves is 5/4.
- The Czechs have only failed to score in two of their last ten matches, five of which have come in the first 30 minutes. Combining their threat and England’s habit of scoring early at Wembley, a goal for either team in the first 30 mins is tempting at 20/23.
New Customer Special Offer:
All odds accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to fluctuation. Max bets apply. T&C’s apply. 18+. www.begambleaware.org.