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Up to this point Group D has seen very little goalscoring. Group favorite England has struggled to create chances—scoring just once in its opening match victory over Croatia. Meanwhile, the Scots are yet to score and the Croatians have scored just once. The Czech Republic for its part has scored three goals.
So, while there hasn’t been much highlight-reel action through the first two matchdays, every team drawing a match means they all remain mathematically alive to advance to the knockout stages.
The Czechs and English are currently joint group leaders on four points. The Czechs hold the tiebreaker with a better goal differential. Meanwhile, Croatia and Scotland are both on one point after Croatia drew the Czech Republic and Scotland drew England last time out.
And making things even juicier is the fact that the teams level on points square off on the last matchday, which means the teams on one point could draw level with one of the leaders and throw the table for a bit of a loop.
Group D Advancement Scenarios (per UEFA):
- Czech Republic are through and will win the group if they avoid defeat against England. They will finish second if they lose and Scotland beat Croatia. They will only finish third if they lose and Croatia win by enough to overtake them on overall goal difference.
- England are through and will finish top if they beat Czech Republic. They will only finish third if they lose and Scotland win by enough to overtake them on overall goal difference.
- Croatia will go through with a win and can still overtake Czech Republic for second place on overall goal difference.
- Scotland will go through with a win and can still overtake England for second place on overall goal difference.
Czech Republic vs England
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Time: 21:00 CET/15:00 EDT | Location: Wembley Stadium, London
While these two sides look fairly safe to advance there are no guarantees for either yet. A draw would suit the pair as it would assure both of a place in the round of 16. However, it would also mean a second-place finish for England—one of the tournament favorites at the start of proceedings.
The English have seen their star fade a bit since the group stage kicked off and desperately need to find some offense. So, would sleepwalking to a 0-0 draw really suit them?
Meanwhile, at times the Czechs have looked like the most offensively competent team in the group led by former Roma man Patrik Schick. You would think both sides would want to find a way to win and build momentum heading into the knockout rounds.
An interesting caveat is the fact that the Group D winner draws the Group F runner up which will likely be one of France, Germany, or Portugal, while the runner up gets the runner up of Group E, which could end up being Spain. Pick your poison, but being runner-up in this group may actually be a blessing in disguise.
How to Watch
United States: ESPN, fuboTV, ESPN App, PrendeTV, SiriusXM FC, TUDN Radio
United Kingdom: ITV 1 UK, RTE 2, The ITV Hub, STV Scotland , UTV, RTE Player, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live
Canada: TSN.ca, TSN App, TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, TVA Sports
Croatia vs Scotland
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Time: 21:00 CET/15:00 EDT | Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Like the English, the Scots will be the road team on home soil for this one. The Scots played the rival English tough in their last match, holding Gareth Southgate’s side to only one shot on target in a cagey affair. However, they have yet to score a goal of their own in two matches.
Meanwhile, the Croatians secured a valuable point last time out when Ivan Perisic canceled out a Schick penalty. A draw in this one suits neither side, as two points likely won’t be enough to get through as a top third-place side. So, expect both sides to go for it.
Both squads have been offensively challenged so far, but we could see some open football and goals as both sides need a win. If either side wins by a large enough margin it could find itself second depending on the result in the other match. At worst, a win and four points should secure qualification as a third-place side.
How to Watch
United States: ESPN2, fuboTV, ESPN App, PrendeTV, SiriusXM FC
United Kingdom: ITV 4, The ITV Hub, RTE Player, Talksport 2 Radio UK
Canada: TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN App, TVA Sports 2