/Euro 2020: England boss Gareth Southgate revealed his excitement at facing Croatia or the Czech Republic
Euro 2020: England boss Gareth Southgate revealed his excitement at facing Croatia or the Czech Republic

Euro 2020: England boss Gareth Southgate revealed his excitement at facing Croatia or the Czech Republic

The UEFA dignitary who appeared on Romanian TV and said it would be great if they qualified for Euro 2020 rather than let the cat out of the bag. Football fans around the world can buy  England vs Croatia Tickets online to enjoy its outstanding performances.

The dome-shaped Romeo in Bucharest, fittingly resembling a circus tent, hosted Saturday night’s draw and the city will also host matches next summer. The good wishes of Europe’s governing body aren’t encouraging news for Iceland, drawn to play the Romanians in a play-off semi-final in March, but does sum up this latest version of the European Championship. An unnecessarily complex and complicated carve-up aimed to please as many nations as possible.

Scores of delegates including Gareth Southgate and Ryan Gigs descended on the Romanian capital on a rainy eastern European evening but there was little of the anticipation you usually associate with a major draw.

Only 11 of the 36 countries represented 20 definite qualifiers and 16 play-off hopefuls didn’t have any idea of which group they would be in. It’s a result of UEFA’s decision to play Euro 2020 across many cities in different countries. Even the obvious ‘group of death’ containing holders Portugal, France and Germany lack normal jeopardy given that the four best third-placed teams will also go through to the knockout stages.

The irony is that England could be the biggest beneficiaries of all. They already knew they’d be playing all three of their Group D games at Wembley and Saturday’s selection of Croatia, Czech Republic, and the play-off winners out of Scotland, Israel, Norway and Serbia won’t fright Harry Kane.

Advantage for England

But this time England will have home benefit, first counter to Croatia on June 14, 2020 match. They beat the Czechs 5-0 at Wembley in March. Southgate’s only concern, being paired with France, was averted by Ruud Gullet pulling out the Croatian ball after some acrobatics and music from the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra which is the hallmark of a good UEFA draw.

Euro 2020: England boss Gareth Southgate revealed his excitement at facing Croatia or the Czech Republic
Euro 2020: England boss Gareth Southgate revealed his excitement at facing Croatia or the Czech Republic

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the draw is how the group positionings affect the knockout ties. In 2018, England benefited from finishing runners-up in their group to Belgium and had a relatively easy run to the last four as a result. History could repeat itself this time. If England wins Group D as they should, a last-16 tie in Dublin awaits against World Cup winners France or another toughie from their group; Portugal or Germany.

Gareth Southgate talk

“The two teams we see we’ve got (Croatia and Czech Republic), we have decent results and poor results against them, he said. ‘It’s nothing to be complacent about but everyone not in Group F will be pleased about that.”

Croatia at Wembley is a brilliant opening game for the fans and the players. There is a contrast. They have hugely experienced players throughout the team. We are the other end of the scale. Very young, lots of energy but improving. It is a nice contrast. You can’t make up for losing a World Cup semi-final, unfortunately. We felt like that after beating them in the Nations League. It was nice to win but it didn’t redress it. But this is a really attractive fixture.”

“In the end, we want to win every game we play and have control of our destiny. Fortune will take you wherever it takes you,’ he said. At this stage, he is thinking of nothing but qualifying. ‘You need a strategy of getting out the group. There are three games, not one.”

Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic has lost some key performers like center-forward Mario Mandzukic since the World Cup final but still boasts stellar names Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic, besides Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren.

‘England is now a fantastic team,’ he said. ‘It is not easy to play the first game at Wembley. But we reached the World Cup final so I always believe. I am optimistic. They are very potent in attack. In the next three, four, five years, they will be on top of the European game.’

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