Czech Republic vs Scotland Match Report

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Juan Pablo

Two goals from Patrik Schick, one in each half, lifted Czech Republic to an opening 2-0 victory over Scotland in the opening match for both nations in Group D of the 2020 European Championship. The Bayer Leverkusen striker nodded home a perfect cross from the right flank to score the opening goal late in the first half, and he scored a brilliant strike from midfield to double his nation’s lead shortly after the break.

Scotland got off to a better start and came close to score as early as the fifth minute, when a shot from John McGinn got deflected and cleared away by the opposing defence. The Scotsmen looked in control of the game early on, but the Czechs delivered the first warning in the 15th minute, when Schick forced David Marshall to deny him the opener.

With the Tartan Army in support at Hampden Park, Scotland kept generating some good chances and it was their captain, Andrew Robertson, who came close to score in the 32rd minute with a thunderous strike from inside the box that was parried away by Tomas Vaclik. The Sevilla goalkeeper was tested early and often in the first half, but he responded every time his team needed him.

It seemed as if the first half would end in a stalemate, but Schick had other plans. The Leverkusen forward took advantage of a perfect cross from Vladimir Coufal to win minimal separation against a defender and place the ball into the far post and out of the keeper’s reach. Out of nowhere, it was 1-0 for Czech Republic. The first 45 minutes would end with that scoreline.

Scotland tried to turn things around in the second half and pushed their lines forward, but Czech Republic killed the game on a counter attack in the opening minutes of the second half. With Marshall completely out of his goal, Schick blasted a long-range effort from nearly the halfway line that went straight into the empty goal. It was surely one of the top goals of the tournament, and it was also a desmoralizing sequence for a Scotland side that never stopped looking for a potential equalizer.

The hosts never stopped charging for a consolation goal and could’ve had a few chances, but their strikers — mostly Lee Dykes — were quite inaccurate in the final meters. The Czech Republic didn’t have major problems to close things out in the second half by pulling their lines deeper into the pitch, and in the end, they walked away with a comfortable 2-0 victory that leaves them in first place of the standings with two matches left.

Scotland will play England in the next round of fixtures, while Czech Republic will try to make it two-of-two when facing the current World Cup runner-ups, Croatia.