Czechs will be different proposition to depleted double header in autumn
STEVE Clarke has stressed the Czech Republic side that Scotland will f ace in t heir opening Euro 2020 match will be far more formidable than those they beat home and away in t he Nations League t his season and scotched suggestions their first opponents are the weakest in Group D.
The national team came from behind to defeat weakened rivals who had been decimated by a coronavirus outbreak in their squad 2-1 in Olomouc in September and then won 1-0 in the rematch in Glasgow in October.
Those victories have given members of the Tartan Army hope that Andy Robertson and his team mates can triumph over Jaroslav Silhavy’s men at Hampden tomorrow and go a long way towards securing a place in the last 16.
Clarke certainly hopes the results bolster his charges’ confidence. However, he knows the Czechs – who drew 1-1 with Belgium, who are currently top of the current FIFA World Rankings, in a Qatar 2022 qualifier in Prague in March – should on no account be underestimated.
Asked about the Czech results, he said: “Some players might take something out of that. Some players like to know that they can win on certain occasions and if that’s how they want to think then fine. Others will know that our team will be quite different.
“That [October game] was the window where we lost [Kieran] Tierney, [Stuart] Armstrong and [Ryan] Christie from the squad. Andy Considine came in, Ryan Jack played and Greg Taylor played left wing-back. The Czechs will have some changes from that group too; the big striker from Leverkusen [Patrick Schick], the winger who plays in Italy [Jakub] Jankto, are more likely to play. So they were missing a few.”
Clarke continued: “They are a big strong and athletic team. Good going forward, they take a lot of risks and put a lot of bodies up the pitch. Listen, they are a good team. I actually look at them as being quite similar to ourselves.
“They are maybe ranked a little bit higher than their performances, but they are a team that is improving together. You can see that from their performance against Belgium. They are a good team with good players.
“When people look at the group they talk about the Czech Republic as the weakest link, but that tells me it’s a helluva strong group because England and Croatia are good teams too. It’s a tough group. I know people say we have a good chance to come out of the group, but we will need to be good.”
Scotland were, despite winning thanks to goals from Lyndon Dykes and Ryan Christie, heavily criticised for their display against a hastily-cobbled together Czech side away from home in September.
However, Clarke used the three man defence that functioned so well in the Euro 2020 play-off matches against Israel and Serbia in that outing and felt it was a major turning point to his reign as manager.
“It was part of the process of growing and developing,” he said. “It wasn’t long into the experiment with three at the back. We had decided to try that and it has been very successful for us.
“I’m not blinded by the system thinking we have cracked it all. I have spoken to the players about the fact the system has some weaknesses, things we have to get better at. Hopefully we can continue to do that and improve.”