When you speak about a team with a lot of chances but failed to take them, you can boil it down to bad luck sometimes or lack of experience and that was the fate of Scotland on the day. In a match that they dominated with a lot of chances to their credit but they were denied by the brilliance of Czech Republic's goalkeeper; Vaclik. He was phenomenal on the day and nothing was able to get past him, much to the frustration of the Scottish.
McGuinn got the first real chance for Scotland in the 5th minute when a bad clearance sets him up at the edge of the box. He tried to get the shot off but he was blocked. This is the start of much more frustration to come for the Scottish. Schick on the other end had his real chance when McGuinn was robbed off the ball and he was set up. His snapshot was saved by the goalkeeper to keep both sides level.
Dykes also fluffed his lines after being set up with an inviting cross by Robertson in the 17th minute. Speaking of Robertson, he got another chance for Scotland after being perfectly set up but his effort was brilliantly saved by the impressive Vaclik for a corner kick. Robertson had all the time to do better with the ball but he struck it one time. Taking the effort like a freekick wasn't the best in that situation but still, he had a split second to decide and he was unlucky.
In the 41st minute, Czech Republic got their goal when Schick got on the end of a lovely cross into the box. He headed home beyond the reach of the Marshall, 1-0. This makes it harder for Scotland who has never scored in European competition after going behind.
Marshall had to produce two important saves to keep his side in the game just before halftime. One brilliant stop from the goalscorer; Schick and another low drive stop from the brilliant shot from Darida.
Scotland went so close again at the start of the second half when Hendry's effort struck the crossbar after beating the goalkeeper for pace but not accuracy. Just a minute after, Scotland should have been celebrating after a long ball in from Robertson created confusion in the box for Kalas. In his attempt to block the ball, he diverted the ball goalward. The goalkeeper was quick enough to stop the ball from going into the back of the net. There was no getting any ball past Vaclik on this day. He was up for it.
The best goal of the day and the best goal of the tournament so far came in the 51st minute when Hendry's shot was blocked and the ball went straight to Schick who spotted Marshall off his line and hit his shot from the halfway line. It was a beautiful technique that beat the goalkeeper for pace and accuracy. What a goal that was. He got his second goal of the day emphatically. 3 points sealed already for the Czech Republic.
Armstrong ran the length of the field and opted to have a go by himself. His effort was diverted onto the roof of the net to compound their frustration. Not long after, Armstrong won the battle of the head as he found Dyke very close to the goalkeeper. Dyke's toe-poke was saved again by the goalkeeper. In the 65th minute, Dyke was denied yet again after he was found in the box but the feet of Vaclik was determined not to allow any ball to cross over the line.
Forrest came in for Dyke and he produced quick feet right inside the box. He looked destined to score after leaving defenders for dead only to be denied by a vital block from Celustka. Czech should have made it 3 too when Krmencik drew a fine save from Marshall who had to keep a respectable scoreline for his side.
Scotland lost and the Czech Republic got the needed goals despite the efforts from Scotland.
Here is how their table looks like after one game:
Czech Republic - 3 Points
England - 3 Points
Croatia - 0 Point
Scotland - 0 Point
In other games, we saw the first red card of the tournament with Poland when Krychowiak received the marching order after his second yellow card. He made it difficult for his side to mount a comeback after they scored through Linetty after an initial own goal from Szczesny who allowed himself to be beaten at his near post. The ball trickled off him into the back of the net. Slovakia took advantage of the one-man deficit and scored in the 69th minute through Skriniar to seal a 2-1 over Poland.
Spain and Sweden played out a bore 0-0 with Spain playing the entirety of the match while Sweden restricted them for the long haul.
This is how their table is looking too:
Slovakia - 3 Points
Spain - 1 Point
Sweden - 1 Point
Poland - 0 Point
The last game for the first round in the tournament would come against:
Hungary v Portugal
France v Germany.
The pick of the game would surely be France v Germany and I look forward to the clash between these two. I hope it lives up to the hype.
