Scotland vs Czech Republic: Preview, predictions, team news, betting tips and odds

Scotland will be looking to make the perfect start to their Group D campaign when they open their European Championship with a clash against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park on Monday afternoon. Here is the preview, predictions, team news, betting tips and odds of this upcoming match.

Chau Polly

June 13, 2021 | 14:09

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Scotland’s first major tournament game in a generation sees them host Czech Republic in their Group D opener at Hampden Park.

Steve Clarke’s side are at their first tournament since the 1998 World Cup, having overcome Serbia in a thrilling playoff penalty shootout.

With a massive grudge match against England coming up in their second fixture at Wembley, Clarke’s men will be desperate to get off to a good start in front of a home crowd.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Photo: Mr.Fixit's Tips

Scotland vs Czech Republic is scheduled for a 2pm BST kick-off on Monday, June 14, 2021.

Scotland vs Czech Republic team news

Scotland squad

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, David Marshall, Jon McLaughlin

Defenders: Nathan Patterson, Stephen O’Donnell, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Greg Taylor, Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley, Declan Gallagher, Scott McKenna, Jack Hendry

Midfielders: Billy Gilmour, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, John McGinn, John Fleck, David Turnbull

Forwards: Che Adams, James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Ryan Fraser, Lyndon Dykes, Kevin Nisbet

Czech Republic squad

Goalkeepers: Tomas Vaclik, Jiri Pavlenka, Ales Mandous

Defenders: Jan Boril, Jakub Brabec, Vladimir Coufal, Ondrej Celustka, Pavel Kaderabek, Tomas Kalas, Ales Mateju, David Zima

Midfielders: Antonin Barak, Vladimir Darida, Adam Hlozek, Tomas Holes, Jakub Jankto, Alex Kral, Lukas Masopust, Jakub Pesek, Tomas Soucek, Petr Sevcik, Michal Sadilek

Forwards: Michael Krmencik, Tomas Pekhart, Patrik Schick, Matej Vydra

Scotland vs Czech Republic: Match preview

Photo: Evening Standard

Monday's clash at Hampden Park will mark Scotland's first match at a major international tournament since the 1998 World Cup, while they are competing in the finals of the European Championship for the first time since Euro 1996, when they also famously took on England in the group stage.

Scotland dramatically qualified for Euro 2020 courtesy of back-to-back penalty-shootout victories over Israel and Serbia in the semi-finals and final of the playoffs.

Clarke's team are certainly outsiders when it comes to claiming a top-two spot in this group, but a win on Monday would place them in an excellent position in the section ahead of the monumental clash with England at Wembley Stadium on June 18.

The Scots will be feeling good about their preparations for this summer's tournament, having picked up a respectable 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in a friendly on June 2 before recording a 1-0 win over Luxembourg on June 6 courtesy of a first-half effort from Che Adams.

Scotland have failed to progress past the group stage in their two previous participations in the European Championship, but Clarke has put together a squad capable of challenging for a spot in the round of 16.

Czech Republic, though, will also certainly have their eyes on a position in the knockout round of the competition and will view Monday's clash with Scotland as key to their chances of progression.

Jaroslav Silhavy's side suffered a 4-0 defeat to Italy in their first pre-tournament friendly on June 4 but managed to return to winning ways on June 8 courtesy of a 3-1 success over Albania.

It is difficult to know exactly what to expect from the Czechs this summer, as they can be inconsistent, but a draw with Belgium in a 2022 World Cup qualifier back in March was an indication of their credentials.

Czech Republic famously finished as runners-up to Germany at Euro 1996, while they made the semi-finals of this competition in 2004 before also claiming a quarter-final spot at Euro 2012 - making them a side more than capable of negotiating their way into the latter stages of the tournament.

Silhavy's team will, rightly or wrongly, view Scotland as their weakest opponents in this group, and the fact that they finish the section with successive matches against Croatia and England means that the 1996 finalists cannot afford a slip up at Hampden Park.

Scotland vs Czech Republic: Prediction

Photo: Reuters

There is simply no downplaying the importance of this match to both teams, but we are finding it incredibly difficult to separate them. Both are capable of causing problems in the final third of the field, but it might end up being a cagey affair in Glasgow, and we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw.

Czech Republic are a much improved side under Jaroslav Šilhavý and boast some names familiar to fans of the Premier League in the form of West Ham duo Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal.

However, Scotland have been waiting 23 years for this match and in front of a home crowd they should rise to the occasion.

Scotland to win 2-1.

Scotland vs Czech Republic: Betting Odds

All of our tips contain no bias and have been researched using the latest stats and figures available at the time of publication.

Prediction one: Full-Time Result – Scotland to Win

Prediction two: Total Goals – Under 2.5 Goals

Prediction three: Anytime Goalscorer – John McGinn to Score

Scotland to Win

Scotland have a decent record against the Czech Republic, especially in more recent years, winning each of the duo's last three encounters. The pair met twice in 2020 where Scotland first won in the Czech Republic 2-1 and then back on home soil 1-0. Scotland claimed a 1-0 win over Luxembourg in their final warm-up game ahead of the Euros and are now unbeaten in their last five fixtures. Czech Republic have lost two of their last three matches, including a 1-0 defeat against Wales.

Under 2.5 Goals

We're expecting a tight and tense 90-minutes between two countries that will understand the high value of a win in their first group game. Four of the last six meetings between the two nations have produced under 2.5 goals, with each of those games ending in 1-0 scorelines. Three of Scotland's and three of Czech Republic's last three matches in all competitions have also featured under 2.5 goals, so you can see why we're backing a low-scoring affair.

John McGinn to Score

Ladbrokes have suspended any betting on Che Adams to score first, score anytime, or to score 2 or more goals in this game, so we're backing the Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn to find the back of the net. McGinn has scored more goals than any other player in the Scotland squad, netting 10 times in 33 appearances for his country. The goalscoring midfielder finished as top scorer in the European Championship qualifiers for Scotland with 7-goals and we expect him to be a real threat in this tournament.