Scotland National Football Team

Manager / Steve Clarke
Appointed / May 2019
Captain / Andy Robertson
Top Scorer in Euro 2020 Qualifiers / John McGinn, 7
Top Scorer in Squad (Domestic season 2020-21) / Kevin Nisbet, 14 (Hibernian, Scottish Premiership)
Most Carded in qualifying / Scott McTominay, 4
Group / D, vs. Czech Republic (14/06/21), vs. England (18/06/21), vs. Croatia (22/06/21)

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *

Scotland Road to Euro 2020

Scotland finished third in their qualifying campaign, miles behind both Russia and Belgium in what was a tricky group meaning they had to find an alternative route to the Euros. They did earn their spot at this tournament through the Nations League qualifiers, sneaking past both Israel and Serbia on penalties. Qualification to the Qatar World Cup has begun somewhat mediocrely with a routine 4-0 win over the Faroes preceded by disappointing draws with Israel and Austria.

Steve Clarke has instilled a belief in not just the players, but the nation too and even though results haven’t been outstanding, a run of just two defeats in 14 should give us hope in what isn’t an impossible group to successfully navigate.

Scotland Euro 2020 Squad

Having lost Kenny McLean and Ryan Jack to injury ahead of our first tournament in 23 years, there have been a few surprise call-ups made by Clarke. The uncapped duo of Billy Gilmour and David Turnbull have taken the injured midfielders’ places, with the also uncapped Nathan Patterson included after impressing in Rangers’ unbeaten Premiership season.

Goalkeeper

Clarke has opted for experience between the sticks, calling up Craig Gordon, David Marshall and Jon McLaughlin. St. Johnstone’s Zander Clark is the one that can probably feel a little hard done by here after his heroics en route to lifting a domestic cup double with his side. Marshall will likely be Clarke’s number one on the 14th of June despite featuring intermittently in Derby’s successful relegation run-in. The 36-year-old was the hero in the Serbia shoot-out and should keep his spot as Scotland’s number one.

Defence

Scotland will almost certainly line-up with five at the back, in an attempt at fitting in two world-class left backs into Clarke’s starting XI. The partnership of Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney hasn’t always been the most fruitful, especially in Robertson’s case in a somewhat unfamiliar left wing-back role. It does, though, allow Scotland to get as many of their talented midfielders on the park as possible, particularly if Scott McTominay lines up at centre-half, so just bear that in mind if you are looking at the Man United man for any goals/shots on target stats.

The debutant Patterson could see himself in the starting XI come 14^th June, with there being no obvious candidate on the right-hand side of the defence, though Ryan Fraser, James Forrest and, most likely, Stephen O’Donnell will all rival the Gers youngster.

Midfield

The stand-out player during qualification was John McGinn, with the Villa man scoring 7 times and revelling in a more advanced midfield role than he’s used to taking up for his club side. Due to the injuries to Jack and McLean though, McGinn may have to drop a bit deeper than in qualifying so, again, he may not be as appealing on the goals/shots front. There are options that would allow McGinn to take up the more advance role that he’s thrived in for Scotland. Bringing in an extra centre half and pushing McTominay forward into the middle of the park, or including Chelsea youngster Gilmour could free up McGinn.

Attack

Clarke could look to get in three more attacking players for the games against Czech Republic and Croatia, with the England game probably being more of an exercise in defending and taking our opportunities if and when they arise. Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, Forrest, Fraser and Ryan Christie will be the most obvious candidates, with Christie in particular being an interesting one. His penchant for shooting (3.51 shots per game for Celtic in the Premiership, 1.22 on target) can infuriate his club side’s fans but it can be a vital tool to qualify from the group for us.

Scotland predicted line-up vs. Czech Republic: Marshall; O’Donnell, Cooper, Hanley, Tierney, Robertson; McGregor, McGinn, McTominay; Dykes, Christie (5-3-2).

Scotland Euro 2020 Betting Tips & Predictions

The obvious stand-out is the trip to Wembley on the 18th of June but despite it being against England, the outcome of the match against one of the favourites for the entire tournament shouldn’t define Clarke’s campaign.

Scotland did beat Czech Republic twice en route to the Euros, although the Czechs were down to the barest of bones in the first tie due to Covid call-offs, and in Croatia, they meet a country far from the peak of their powers like they were in their run to the 2018 World Cup Final. This should offer hope to Clarke’s men and with four of the six third-placed teams qualifying through to the Last 16, one win in their three group games could just about be enough for us to progress.

Three points was enough to see Northern Ireland and eventual winners Portugal qualify in third place in 2016, with four points almost certainly seeing us through to the next stage. At over evens (2.1), Scotland to qualify from Group D does look tempting.

Scotland are 3.0 to win that first game against the Czech Republic, which, if you fancy them to make it through the group, looks very good value. It’s their most winnable of all three games and those three points could just about be enough to see progression through to the Last 16, so that 3.0 price does look even more attractive than what you can get for Scotland to qualify from the group.

Looking even further, should Scotland qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams then there’s a chance that their Last 16 tie will be played at Hampden. If that were to be the case, they’d face the winners of Group E (likely Spain, but potentially, Sweden, Slovakia or Poland). Or should they get 2nd place in the group, they’ll face the runners-up of the same group. Beating Spain is almost certainly beyond this Scotland side, but should they sneak into second in the group, a one-off tie against Poland or Sweden wouldn’t be an impossible task for a stubborn side and (this may just be blind patriotism speaking) Scotland’s stage of elimination being the Quarter-Final at 8.0 does look interesting if results go in our favour.

The Scotland top scorer race could be interesting. We will almost certainly not play open and expansive football which means the player will likely only need to get two goals to take home this crown. The likes of Christie, Adams and McGinn are the obvious picks, although as mentioned earlier, McGinn isn’t quite as appealing with no Jack or McLean forcing him to drop deeper. Should Christie be given the nod to start, the Celtic man is 6.5 to finish as his nation’s top scorer, a tempting price despite him coming off a poor club season.

Predicted stage of elimination: Round of 16

How to watch England v Scotland in Euro 2020

📅   When / Friday, 18 June 2021, 20:00 BST
🏟   Where / Wembley Stadium (London)
📺   TV / ITV, STV, ZDF
📱   Online streaming / bet365