England look to be holding all the aces when entertaining Scotland in the second round of Euro 2020 Group D fixtures at Wembley. The Three Lions kicked off with a win over Croatia, whereas their arch-rivals have a mountain to climb after losing to Czech Republic.
Croatia looked a shadow of the team which reached the World Cup final when losing to England and may struggle to beat Czech Republic. The Czechs will have been buoyed by a solid 2-0 success over Scotland at Hampden Park and get to stay in Glasgow for this game.
Sweden rode their luck at times when drawing with Spain but are still fancied to build on that gutsy effort by beating Slovakia. The Falcons kicked off their Euro 2020 Group E campaign by upsetting 10-man Poland but are rated inferior to their next opponents on overall form.
Denmark may find it tough to recover from their dramatic Euro 2020 opener, especially now taking on one of the tournament favourites in Belgium. The Red Devils beat the Danes by two clear goals at home and away in the Nations League last year and began this competition in cracking form.
Ukraine and North Macedonia both tasted defeat in their opening Euro 2020 games but the blue and yellows look better equipped to bounce back. They gave Netherlands a scare before going down 3-2 while the Lynxes appeared a touch naive in their 3-1 loss to Austria at this venue.
Netherlands and Austria should be full of confidence following entertaining wins in the first round of Group C games at Euro 2020. Both managers seem keen to play in a positive manner and it will be slightly surprising if this does not end up another action-packed contest.
Wales got off to a solid start at Euro 2020 when drawing with Switzerland and will now be looking to kick on by beating Turkey. However, despite struggling against Italy, the Crescent Stars are a decent outfit and will benefit from a strong support in Baku.
Russia were disappointing against Belgium in their Euro 2020 Group B opener but are given another chance when entertaining Finland. The Eagle-owls will be looking to build on their victory over Denmark but obviously that result was achieved under a very dark cloud.
Italy made an ultra-impressive start to Euro 2020 when dominating Turkey and are now hard to oppose against Switzerland on home turf. That was a ninth straight clean-sheet victory for the Azzurri, who are unbeaten in 28 matches and really flourishing under Roberto Mancini.
France versus Germany is the pick of the opening round of Euro 2020 fixtures and we can’t split these perennial powerhouses in Munich. Current world champions Les Bleus have a more settled side playing with great self-belief but home advantage will obviously help Die Mannschaft.
Holders Portugal head into Euro 2020 as a team at the top of their game and can make light of facing Hungary on their home turf in Budapest. The Magyars have never beaten the Navigators in 13 attempts and the balance of power is very much in favour of the visiting team at present.
With England and Croatia favourites to advance from Group D, Scotland and Czech Republic know a solid start is imperative. These teams are evenly matched on FIFA rankings, with Steve Clarke’s side four spots lower at 44, despite winning both Nations League meetings last term.
Poland reached the European Championship quarter-finals five years ago and can begin their Euro 2020 campaign by seeing off Slovakia. After a strong performance in qualifying for this tournament and a solid Nations League effort, the Eagles should be ready to soar this summer.
All the evidence suggests Spain should be too strong for Sweden on home turf in Seville in the opening round of Euro 2020 Group E games. La Roja finished five points ahead of their opponents when they met in qualifying and enjoyed a more impressive Nations League campaign.