England is having a great year 2021. Gareth Southgate’s squad is successful on all fronts. After a failure in the League of Nations, where England lost the competition to Belgium and Denmark, the British were more than confident in their start in qualifying for the World Cup. In the group “three lions” were with Hungary, Albania, Poland, Andorra and San Marino. Favorite status was confirmed pretty quickly. After easy victories over San Marino (5:0) and Albania (2:0), England left no chances for Poland. One of the main competitors in the fight for the first line fell to Wembley with a score of 1:2, which allowed the British to break out into the sole leaders of the group. In the first round of the European Championship, the England team also met with the team, which can be safely called the main competitor in the struggle for the first line. However, the Croatian national team did not retain this status for long. In the 57th minute of the meeting Rahim Streling embodied the advantage of the English national team in a goal scored. In general, the fight turned out to be rather stingy in terms of chances and was held at not the most serious speeds, but England gained three points in the class.
The Czech national team, unlike its current rival, has made significant progress in recent years. Under Jaroslav Shilgava, the roster was rejuvenated and the work of the 59-year-old mentor bore fruit. The Czech national team managed to rise in class in the League of Nations. The People’s Team won the competition from Israel, Scotland and Slovakia and will now play in the elite division. As for the selection for the World Championship, the Czech national team performed solidly here too. With four points after three rounds and the second place in the group the Czechs managed to take points from Belgium (1:1) at home, which is certainly worth a lot. In the test matches before Euro 2020, the Czech Republic first lost big to Italy 0:4 and then confidently beat Albania 3:1. In the first round of the European Championship, the Czech national team met with Scotland in Glasgow and proved that they are quite capable of fighting for the exit from the group. Patrick Schick’s double allowed the people’s team to get a 2:0 victory over Scotland, but it also makes sense to note the excellent game at the gate of Tomas Vaclik, whose five saves helped the team avoid trouble.
