Croatia and Czech Republic qualify for Round of 16 at Euro 2020

Soccer: World Cup-England vs Croatia

Three teams from Group D have now advanced to the round of 16 at Euro 2020. Joining England, who already qualified due to results on Sunday and Monday, were Croatia and the Czech Republic.

At Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, Croatia qualified by beating the host Scottish squad 3-1. Three different Croats scored as attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasic of Split, midfielder Luka Modric of Zadar, and winger Ivan Perisic of Split were able to beat Scottish goaltender David Marshall.

Vlasic, who plays for CSKA Moscow, scored in the 17th minute. Then after Callum McGregor tied the game at one for Scotland’s first goal of the tournament in the 42nd minute, Croatia responded with two second-half goals from Modric in the 62nd minute, and Perisic in the 77th minute. Modric plays for Real Madrid, and Perisic plays for Inter Milan.

It was Croatia’s first win of the tournament, and improved to a record of one win, one loss, and one draw for three points. Heading into Euro 2020, they were considered extremely dangerous because they advanced to the final of the 2018 World Cup before losing 4-2 to France at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

Perisic now has two goals at Euro 2020. He also scored for Croatia in their 1-1 tie against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park on June 18. The game only had an attendance of 5,607 fans in Glasgow, mainly because most Scottish fans were ready to watch Scotland’s game later that day against England at Wembley Stadium. In a gritty effort, Scotland came through with a 0-0 tie.

Due to the fact Scotland only had one point in Group D (also lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic on June 14), they will not be advancing to the round of 16, as they finished last in the group. The Czech Republic will move on however, despite losing 1-0 to England on Tuesday. The Czech Republic is guaranteed to be one of the top four third-place teams, as they have one more point than Finland and Ukraine, who are third place in Group B and C respectively.

 

 

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