UEFA Euro 2020: De Bruyne still without feeling in left half of his face

World Cup finalist Croatia has to react to the opening loss against England. With the Czech Republic he meets a rival who may appear more relaxed. There isn’t much material for Croatia’s national coach Zlatko Dalic’s motivational speech. The feat of three years ago at the World Cup in Russia seems a long way off. Since last September, the Croatian has won only three games out of twelve, two of them against Malta and Cyprus. At the start of the European Championship against England, the team was powerless.

Dalík is hoping for a turnaround in Glasgow for his most important man: Luka Modric. The 35-year-old will play his 140th international match against the Czech Republic. “He has a lot of experience and knows how to play big tournaments,” assures Dalik. Croatian statisticians have reported that the 2018 World Cup finalists have never lost a second game in a final (6 wins, 4 draws).

The Czechs, who are going to play Glasgow for the second time after beating Scotland 2-0, are looking to rely on the forward and the back. Striker Patrick Schick scored both goals in the first game, one from 50 metres, and former Basel goalkeeper Tomas V वैklik caught what he had held. (EX/SDA)