Euro 2020 takeaways: Draw with Scotland erodes confidence in England’s hopes

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This article was published 18/06/2021 (1932 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Flowers for Scotland, and God save England.

It was a good day for the Scots at London’s Wembley Stadium as they held their English rivals to a goalless draw on enemy turf at Euro 2020 on Friday. Gamblers might have shied away from betting on a 0-0 final, just the fourth in 115 meetings between the teams, but a result for the underdogs was perhaps just as surprising.

Such is the joy of a rivalry — or the anguish, depending on which side you fall.

Scotland needed its first point of the tournament to keep alive any realistic hope of advancing in Group D — after Croatia and Czech Republic tied 1-1 earlier in the day — and was up for the challenge from the outset. Manager Steve Clark sent out a forward-thinking squad.

Defender Kieran Tierney, back after missing the first match with an injury, provided an added threat out wide and took some of the burden off Andy Robertson, who led Scotland’s somewhat one-dimensional creation in an opening loss to the Czechs. Billy Gilmour added bullishness in the centre of midfield alongside John McGinn, and Che Adams was the most effective striker on the field — which is saying something in a match that also featured England’s Harry Kane, whose performance and service were wanting.

The Scots didn’t just hang in against England, among the tournament favourites. They had the better chances on a rainy afternoon, including Stephen O’Donnell’s low, hard one-timer — a goal if not for the big hand of England ’keeper Jordan Pickford — and defender Reece James clearing another ball off England’s goal-line.

Gareth Southgate’s England side has a wealth of attacking options, which makes Friday’s result that much more confounding. They had Kane, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount on the field, plus Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho on the bench. In the end, their best chance of the day came early from centre back John Stone, who headed a ball onto the Scottish post.

The manager has been criticized in the past for not getting the best out of his team, and this lethargic performance will only add to that notion.

England is still likely to advance, tied with the Czech Republic at four points, but the question now is whether the squad has what it takes for a deep run. Tougher challenges lie ahead. Win the group and they’ll face the second-place team in powerhouse Group F with little time to fix what ailed them against Scotland.

The Scots, meanwhile, have a date with Croatia on Tuesday and everything to play for, as Group D finished the day more wide open than when it started.

• Whither Wembley: England may lose the chance to host the semifinals and final at Wembley Stadium if foreign fans aren’t allowed to travel freely to London. A spike in COVID-19 cases in the country has paused plans to lift more restrictions until July 19. The semis and final are scheduled for July 6 to 11.

At the moment, tourists from all participating countries must quarantine for at least five days after entering Britain. UEFA and the British government are discussing a “strict testing and bubble concept” that would exempt fans and dignitaries from the quarantine.

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The contingency plan is moving the games to Budapest, Hungary — alone among the 11 host cities in allowing full capacity crowds, and one of three with quarantine exemptions for visiting fans.

• The bore war: Swedish fans are among the most entertaining in European soccer, unlike the team they’re backing.

The Swedes have spent much of their 180 minutes to date sitting with 11 men behind the ball, and little attacking intent. In the opener against Spain, strikers Alexander Isak (Sweden’s most potent offensive threat) and Marcus Berg were substituted before the team had scored a goal. And they looked rather comfortable sitting back Friday against Slovakia, too. It’s a tough style to watch in a tournament where even underdogs such as North Macedonia and Denmark have contributed to an entertaining, free-flowing start to the competition.

In the end, though, it’s all about results, and with four points in a wide-open Group E after a 1-0 win over Slovakia, the Swedes have likely done enough to reach the knockout round at a European championship for the first time since 2014. Wonder what injured Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is thinking.

• On the docket: Saturday is a can’t miss day at Euro 2020. The return of the group of death will see France take on Hungary (9 a.m.) followed by Portugal and Germany (noon). Poland will wrap things up against Spain (3 p.m.) in Group E, with Robert Lewandowski and his teammates needing a result against the Spanish to keep their knockout-round chances alive.

With files from The Associated Press

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy