England – Scotland- 18.06.2021 – Soccer Review

The Battle of Britain – that’s how they call the football rivalry between England and
Scotland. We are going to witness more of it on Friday when these two teams will face
each other at the Wembley. This is a match from Group D of the European Championship.
Let’s preview it in these best soccer predictions for today. Should we get to work?
For England it wasn’t easy in their first game, but they still managed to enjoy a 1-0 win
over World Cup finalists Croatia. The Three Lions scored their winning goal in the second
half. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling got a great pass from Kalvin Philips and put the
ball behind the opponent’s keeper. For the English side it was a great feeling to celebrate a
winning start at the Euro.
This was England’s seventh consecutive win, so Gareth Southgate’s team is obviously in a
pretty good shape right now. Southgate used his usual 4-3-3 formation with Harry Kane,
Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in attack. At the same time Declan Rice, Mason Mount
and Kalvin Philips started the game in midfield. The Three Lions did enough to provide a
solid defensive performance which didn’t allow the Croats to create many chances.
Surely England’s pace is one of the team’s biggest weapons at the moment. Gareth
Southgate has the luck to enjoy some really fast players who act quickly on the ball.
Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden can create a lot of danger from the wings while players
like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bakayo Saka can come from the bench and add
even more pace to England’s game. Right now it doesn’t seems that long possession of
the ball is among England’s weapons, but speed surely is.

The manager Gareth Southgate had to face criticism for some of his decisions, which is
completely normal in football, of course. For example, he had to answer questions why he
put Kieran Trippier on the left flank while he has natural left backs like Ben Chilwell and
Luke Shaw. According to some pundits, Southgate wanted an extra defensive stability at
the left which is why he placed Kieran Trippier there.
The fans of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford were also not happy with the fact that
he was left on the bench. The striker made a solid season with the Red Devils in the
Premier League, but Southgate chose Sterling and Foden instead of him. The Manchester
United man played in the last 20 minutes of the game.
It’s still not clear when England’s most influential center-back Harry Maguire could return in
action. The experienced defender is still struggling with injury, but according to the team
news he’s close to playing again. You can be sure that Maguire’s presence in the penalty
area would make the English side much more confident while defending. Liverpool’s
captain Jordan Henderson is also struggling with injury which is why he didn’t play any
minutes against Croatia.
Scotland’s fans expected big things from their team at the Euro, but the Tartan Army
kicked their campaign with a loss. The Scottish team faced the Czech Republic at the
Hampden Park, but didn’t convince enough and suffered a 0-2 defeat. This puts Scotland
in an unpleasant position – now they must aim to take at least a point from England’s
hands.
If we say that Scotland played awful against the Czech Republic, well – it won’t be entirely
true. Steve Clarke’s team played well during some periods of the game and created some
chances, but they were not effective enough in attack. Now they must find a way to do

different against England, because their next opponent is even stronger than the previous
one.

Chelsea’s young gem Billy Gilmour remains a worry for the manager Steve Clarke. The
talented 20-years old midfielder had to miss the first game of his country because of injury
worry. According to some news sources though, Gilmour could be ready to play against
the English side. This player could be able to inspire Scotland with his immense talent, so
surely Steve Clarke would like to use him at least for some part of the game. Gilmour is an
excellent midfielder who distributes the ball very well and knows how the change the
tempo of the game.
Scotland’s captain Andrew Robertson will be one of the key players against the Three
Lions. The Liverpool star is extremely dangerous when taking set-pieces while he does a
lot of work on the entire the left flank. Robertson didn’t disappoint against the Czech
Republic, but now he will need the help of his teammates to make a difference. It’d be
curious to see how Robertson will do against England’s right back Kyle Walker – these two
players know each other very well from the Premier League.
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay is another important player who must make the
difference for Scotland. Currently signed to Manchester United, McTominay must show to
everyone why he plays for one of the biggest clubs in England. He’s not always starting for
the Red Devils, but he’s a crucial player for his country.
Celtic’s Callum McGregor is a solid option for the midfield if the manager Steve Clarke
wants to make a change there. McGregor, who entered the pitch from the bench against
the Czech Republic, is a player with huge work rate – something that Scotland will need
against the Three Lions.

That’s the best soccer predictions for today for the British derby between England and
Scotland at the Euro 2020. The English side is always the favorite when these two teams
meet – now it’s no different. The Three Lions are among the contenders for the trophy this
year and they already started their campaign here with a win. Scotland on the other hand
can’t allow any mistakes now as they already lost once. The games between England and
Scotland are usually very exciting, so we don’t expect anything different now. The English
players are currently superior to the Scottish, but sometimes this is not so decisive in
football.