Huge matches tonight as France face Portugal and a must-win for Spain
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00:00First of all, far too many uses of the word we there, considering your audience.
00:12You're watching Golf News kicking back. I'm Imran and I'm joined by Matt and Shamsuri to talk about
00:17last night's games, but let's start with some of the rumours during the rounds.
00:21Chelsea will challenge Man City for the signature of Aston Villa and England midfielder Jack
00:26Grealish. I think he's going to be quite sought after after this tournament. He's playing well.
00:31Sergio Ramos is set to turn down interest from Man United and Man City and join PSG.
00:37That'll be an interesting move. And Norwich want to sign 20-year-old Scotland midfielder
00:41Billy Gilmore on a season-long loan from Chelsea. All right, to the action and Scotland could have
00:46done with Gilmore playing yesterday night. Sadly, their dreams of making history by
00:51progressing at Euro 2020 ended with a 3-1 defeat against Croatia. They made a really bright start
00:57to the game. I think they won a quarter after about 10 seconds, I think it was. But Vlasic
01:02gave Croatia the lead. But then Scotland finally did something that they haven't done so far in
01:06the tournament and that's scored a goal. What goal it was as well from Callum McGregor. Sadly,
01:11though, Scotland conceded another world-class goal like they did against the Czech Republic.
01:15Schick got it from the halfway line over there. Last night, Modric scored an absolute beauty from
01:20the outside of his right foot to restore their lead. And then Perisic added a third.
01:25It was game over. Matt, commiserations. What did you make of their performance last night?
01:31Yes, it's the same old story again. They flattered to deceive in the opening half.
01:38And yeah, they got the goal, but it just wasn't enough. They were fairly poor in the second half
01:46and I think, obviously, they really miss Billy Gilmer, who's, as we were calling him, the Scottish
01:53canti. They just don't have any strength in depth to replace the man of that talent. And
02:00it really told last night. In the second half, Croatia just moved up a gear and their class
02:06showed through. And unfortunately, Luka Modric chose the Scotland game to finally turn up in
02:14the tournament. He really showed his class in that second half, got a great goal, got the assist
02:20for the second goal, their third goal, sorry. And by that time, it was all over and Scotland sent
02:27home to think again, as they say. Yeah, there's definite progress in that team. I mean, like
02:35four years ago, we wouldn't have even had a sniff of considering competing with these guys and
02:40taking a point off England. So if you consider the age of some of these young, talented
02:46guys like Gilmer, then you know that they're only going to get better. So optimism for the
02:51next time around, it'll be a whole nother set of heartbreaks that time. Yeah, congratulations,
02:57Matty, but you know, you can all keep your heads high with that performance, you know.
03:03Scotland fought their hearts out and they were brilliant at times and they were not
03:09consistent enough. That's the reason. And the gulf in class was shown because Croatia
03:15was in a different mood yesterday. But you know, they missed a certain midfielder,
03:23Billy Gilmer. He was a huge miss for Scotland in that midfield because he was pulling the
03:29strings together, which we have seen in the previous game. But for Croatia, man,
03:34the certain Luka Modric, man, what a player he is, you know, that these kind of players,
03:40these world-class players, you know, they thrive on these kind of situations. It was a pressure
03:44cooker situation, you know, it was a decided kind of a game, but they love it. They relish these
03:50kind of challenges and to score that Rivela using the outside of his right foot was an absolute
03:56magical goal. It was a world-class strike from a world-class player. So the gulf in class was
04:01a difference, you know, but for Scotland they can keep their heads high and they just have to
04:08believe that this is not the end of everything. They just need to believe that this is the
04:11beginning of something for them and they can regularly compete in the tournaments from
04:17hereafter because they have got good crop of young players and some of the players are at
04:22the peak of their career. So if they can keep moving, you know, the future is bright for the
04:27squad. So you have to keep your heads high and move forward.
04:32Yeah, Scotland, I mean, this was their first major tournament in 23 years. Obviously, they're out of
04:38it now for the World Cup. If they can keep that squad together and build around, like you say,
04:43Shamsir, De Lijkshaal, Billy Gilmore, Scott McTiminay, John McGinn, there's some decent
04:48players there, they'll be back, won't they? Yeah, they'll definitely be back. I think that now that
04:53they've finally got that monkey off their back of qualifying for a tournament, they know what
04:59they need to do. They managed to prove themselves in the pressure situations against Serbia
05:05and, you know, the dramatic penalty shootout when they got them there in the first place.
05:11They know that they can achieve these things now. Steve Clarke's definitely the right
05:16man for the job because he's a no-nonsense manager and they've definitely got the talent there.
05:22If they can just unearth a gem of a striker, then I think they'll be pretty good going
05:27forward. To me, that's the weakest area, is just to get that finisher.
05:33And if they can find somebody in the Chelsea academy they can come through in the next year
05:38or so, then it'll be sorted. 100% man, yeah. The best academy in England by a country mile,
05:45Cobham. Yes, you can see how Billy Gilmore is performing, you know, after coming into the
05:50academy. So, yeah, I'm with you with that. And another point about the Scotland squad is that
05:59they lack that cutting edge like what Matty mentioned. But if they can get one of the
06:04good strikers... Because, you know, many of those players are playing in the Premier League now
06:09and they are getting the experience and the future is bright for Scotland. I wouldn't be,
06:15you know, buckled down with that result because the progressing into the tournament itself was
06:19an achievement. Now, the next step is to progress into the round of 16 in the coming tournaments.
06:23So, for that, they have to qualify for the World Cup. So, that should be their aim next.
06:28Yeah, let's have a word on Croatia. They're obviously through as qualifiers of that group,
06:34not qualifiers, they came into it in the end. But they're going to face the runners-up in Group E
06:39and that could be Sweden, Slovakia, Spain or Poland. How far do you think they're going to go
06:43in this tournament now? I think they had a... Obviously, they had a slow start. They lost
06:47against England, they drew against the Czech, won last night. They're coming in and now we saw
06:52a flash of brilliance from Modric, but he's 36. Can he maintain that? Can he do any more
06:57as the tournament goes on? The next round of fixtures does look favourable. I mean,
07:01those aren't very good times to get past that last 16 into the quarterfinals. What do you think?
07:09Yeah, they... We talked about this earlier, that finishing third in that group might
07:13get you a better draw than finishing first or second, because the first and second teams are
07:18up against the likes of France, Germany, Portugal, just depending on how tonight's matches go.
07:24The third place, like Spain, could be there for the taking, even if they manage to get through,
07:31which is no given. Finland, Slovakia... Yeah, Croatia will find their chances,
07:39especially after they turned down a good performance after two fairly mediocre performances
07:44in their first couple of games. So, as you say, a slow burner. They might actually... You look at
07:50the last World Cup, nobody was really talking about them before it. They got all the way to
07:54the final against the odds, so they might have just flattered to not deceive in the first couple
08:01of games, and now that they're going to... Do like in New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup, just get
08:08better and better and better as it goes on. And yeah, you could see them. I mean, I know it was
08:13only one game, but yeah, there was a vast improvement, and they'll fancy their chances
08:17in the last 16 now. Yeah, 100%. You know, Croatia, like what we have mentioned in the preview
08:22yesterday, we don't know which Croatia is going to turn up. If the Croatia that turned up against
08:26Scotland is going to turn up for the rest of the tournament, then nobody wants to face them,
08:31because they're a good side. They're very solid, and their big players all turned up yesterday.
08:35So, whether it is Spain, Sweden or Slovakia, you know, it doesn't matter. Croatia is going to give
08:40a proper fight to them, and like what Matty mentioned, they are a slow burner, and they're
08:46burning now. So, it's going to be a tough game. Whoever meets them, they'll give a fight.
08:52Yeah, for sure. Again, Matt, commiserations done well. But let's move on to the other game last
08:57night. Raheem Sterling got his second goal of Euro 2020 as we beat Czech Republic 1-0 and 1
09:04Group D. That means we have set up a last-16 tie, possibly against either France, Germany,
09:12Portugal or even Hungary. Foden was left out last night of that game. There were starts for Maguire.
09:18He played his first 90 minutes, so Southgate will be very pleased to get him back. Grealish played,
09:23obviously, for Mount, was missing, and Saka played. Yeah, a really good game. But we stuck with
09:28Harry Kane again in the attack, and he drew another blank yesterday. His lack of goals
09:34is a bit of a concern now for me. We've only got two so far in the tournament,
09:37both from Sterling. We're not playing the sort of football that I want to see us play,
09:41you know, attacking on the front foot. We're not doing that at all. But we're unbeaten in three.
09:46We haven't conceded a goal, and we're looking solid defensively. So,
09:50what do you make of England so far? Well, first of all, far too many uses of the word
09:55there, considering your audience. But I'll do my bit for City first. England try to play the way
10:06City play. Obviously, with Sterling and Foden up there, they've obviously thought that they can do
10:10this relentless pressing game, and it doesn't seem to work. And the concern for the City
10:18checkbook balancers is that Harry Kane doesn't seem to be fitting in with those two up front.
10:24So, whether he'll be the right move to fit in at Etihad, we'll wait and see. But before Harry Kane's
10:31shot on target yesterday, all goals and attempts on target had come from City players. They'd hit
10:39the post three times through Sterling, Foden and Stones. Sterling had got two goals, and that was
10:46it. Now, that to me is the concern. Harry Kane, it was a great stop, an instinctive stop by the
10:52keeper to stop him from actually scoring, and Kane did nothing wrong with that effort.
10:58I think that he was a lot brighter, and I think that the service that Grealish gave him from the
11:03left was a lot better as well, and it allowed Sterling a little bit more freedom of movement as
11:10well. So, I think, yeah, the way that that England set up is, I think Grealish fits in better there
11:17than Foden did, but I still think that if you were to take Harry Kane out of that equation and
11:23whack Foden in the middle, you might have had a lot more joy. An entirely different player,
11:29a different height, different build, but the creativity and the cheeky little runs that he
11:35makes, I think you would find that he's getting on a lot more things and getting in behind the
11:38defenders a lot more, because Harry Kane's easy to mark, because he's a giant.
11:45Yeah, and the thing about England, you know, they were in like, you know, at their blistering pace,
11:53but the job was done, which was enough. You know, in major tournaments, you don't need to perform
11:58so well, if you're getting the results, that's enough. So, you have to give credit to Southgate
12:02for progressing into the round of 16, topping the group. But the Pandora box was opened yesterday,
12:09and they unleashed a certain wizard in them, which is Jack Grealish, what a player he is, you know,
12:16he inspired the English attack, you know, what he is capable of, the Premier League, the whole
12:21Premier League knows about that, now the world is watching, and I have no idea why Gareth Southgate
12:26is not, you know, starting him in all the games, because he should be a first name on the team
12:31sheet, because the ability that he possesses, you know, his touches, his movement, his audacity,
12:37everything is absolutely sensational, you know, he can dribble past, he has not got that blistering
12:43pace, but he can still dribble past many players, then he can shield the ball better than anyone in
12:48that England squad, he can, arguably, he can shield that ball better than anyone in the Premier League.
12:53And he, you know, attracts two, three defenders towards him, which gives his teammates,
12:59you know, space to work on, so he's a terrific player, and he should be starting more for
13:03England, and you can see he can pick a pass, the goal came from his pass, his cross, in fact, and
13:09that was a brilliant cross, another player who made a mark in the game was Bukai Osaka,
13:14he was driving from the, throughout the midfield, and he was creating havoc in that left-hand
13:19side, so for the Croatian defence, and he was tearing apart that right flank for England.
13:26Then, yeah, but for Southgate, he ditched that 4-3-3 system, and he played the 4-2-3-1,
13:32where Grealish had all the freedom to link up with Sterling and Kane, but like what Imran
13:38mentioned, I really worry about Kane, because he's dropping back a lot, and he's trying to build the
13:45attack from the midfield, which is not going to work out for him. Yes, it works out for him in
13:50spurs, but for England, he just needs to stay in the six-yard box, and the crosses and the passes
13:54will come towards him, because they have so many attacking players in their belt, so, you know, he
13:58just needs to stay in the six-yard box, and he'll get the chances to score, but he is dropping back,
14:02which is a problem. Yeah, I think it's probably too early to judge England right now, right,
14:06they've had three games, they've done just about okay, their run being, like we say, they haven't
14:12conceded a goal, as an attacking threat, I think, for sure, doesn't want to come from them, so
14:17I think it'll be unwise to label them as a certain way, as a defensive team, or a team
14:22lacking cutting edge. If they were to progress, it'll be interesting to see how they get on,
14:28but like we say, Kane, Kane, I was surprised that he actually started yesterday, they'd already
14:32qualified, you know, Southgate could have, he's got plenty of attacking options on the bench,
14:37he could have started with Calvillo up front if he wanted to, but he's stuck with Kane, so that
14:41tells me he's trying to give him game time, trying to get his fitness back up, you know, he's trying
14:45to get him up to speed, so, you know, he'll be a lot better for the rest of the tournament, but
14:50yeah, they're safely through, let's move on, there's four games left, plenty of football to
14:55come, let's start with Waikia playing against Spain, now, Spain, they should have enough to
15:01get a win here, but I think they've got to be a bit more direct, you know, like they always do,
15:06playing way too many passes, they don't really go nowhere, there's too many sideways and backwards
15:11passing, but if they can be a bit more direct, you know, get the ball forward quicker, I think,
15:17I think they should get a 2-0 win here, what do you think? Yeah, well, I think they got riled
15:25by, I think it was Van der Vaart, it said that they've been really, really poor and whatever,
15:32and then Spain said, we want to meet Netherlands now, so they've got a little mini mission on
15:37their hands, they said, we want to meet Netherlands and then we'll show them exactly what we can do,
15:42he was mocking them for, you know, as you said, they're passing but not going anywhere,
15:47he said they can only pass sideways, they can't score, they're terrible, and then, you know,
15:52the Spain players came out and said, we're putting that on the dressing room wall, we're using that,
15:56you know, and that's going to be their motivation, so I think you're going to see a different Spain
16:01today, just the way they're talking, the way the camp seems to be behaving, I think they definitely,
16:05they want to prove a point to the critics, especially Van der Vaart, so I'd say maybe
16:103-0, 3-0, let's see, they're going to get the scoring boots on today.
16:15Ah, lovely, yeah, we all want Spain to progress, yeah, there is no doubt about that, we all want
16:19all the big teams to progress, so that the tournament becomes even more exciting, but I
16:23worry about Spain, but even a draw would be enough for them, because with three points and no goal
16:29difference, that could be enough for them to progress, but you know, this plays into the
16:33hands of Slovakia, because they are a very good defensive side and they can just sit back and
16:38absorb the pressure, and if they can get a draw, that will be the best outcome for them,
16:43and they can progress as well, so I have a feeling this is going to be another draw,
16:48so it could be a score draw, or a nil-nil.
16:53Oh, that'll be really disappointing for Spain, it'll be, yeah, like we say, let's see how that
16:58goes, right, there's Sweden against Poland, and Isaac's really caught the eye for me,
17:02he's been a really good player, if Sweden can keep it tight at the back and rely on him to
17:07provide the spark up front, I think they can make this one nil.
17:11Yeah, again, I think I'll go on the flip side, because I think that Lewandowski finding the
17:17back of the net in the last match, that Poland will do a job on them and then they'll get through,
17:23so I'll go one nil the other way.
17:26Yeah, for Poland, you know, like in the last game, all the big players need to be turning up for this
17:31game as well, so Lewandowski have found his scoring touch, so it's going to be a tough
17:37game against Poland, and Sweden, Poland needs a win, Sweden just needs a draw to just guarantee
17:43their top spot in the group, and Sweden are a very tough team to break down, and they have
17:48got, like what Imran mentioned, there is a magician in Alexander Isaac, it's very tough to
17:54call, but I want Poland to qualify, so I'm going for a Poland win 1-0, because Sweden can play with
18:01a lot of freedom because they're already through, so they can just break the shackles and just play
18:05the free-flowing football, which if they want to, because they have been very stubborn in defence
18:09and everything, very organised side, but if they can break the shackles and go forward,
18:13going to be a good game to watch, and I think Poland might make it.
18:18All right, and a really interesting one, Germany against Hungary, as we've seen, Hungary,
18:24they're all hard, they gave France a really big scare the other day, but Germany have just
18:30clicked into gear, I think they're just about negative 1-0, what do you think?
18:36Yeah, I think that the massive factor for Hungary is they won't be at Budapest, they're in Munich,
18:41so they won't have the 65,000 fans screaming behind them, it will be a
18:47different ball game for them, and I don't know how well they'll do away from home
18:50without that massive backing, and yeah, and I said that the way that Germany, with the
18:57aid of a couple of home goals, they managed to score four against Portugal, so I think that they'll
19:02probably win by 2-0. Yeah, for Germany, they are missing Thomas Müller in this game,
19:08and that's a major miss for them, but a certain Groetzka is back into the score and
19:14should be starting this game, they have a plethora of talent up front, apart from a
19:19genuine goalscorer, but a certain Kai Havertz and Gnabry are all on form, but like what
19:26Matty mentioned, Hungary doesn't have the 12th man along with them for this game, and whereas
19:31Germany will have, and that's going to be a difference, you know, I think Germany are suspect
19:36in defence, they have only like three clean sheets in their last 16 games, so
19:40they will give you a chance or two, but whether Hungary is hungry enough, I'm not sure, so I think
19:44I'm going for a German win, you know, it could be like 2-0, 3-4 for the Germans.
19:50And the big one for tonight, France against Portugal, this should be good, Ronaldo's obviously
19:55chasing that record, I think he'll be on the score sheet, but I think this is going to be
20:02a 1-1 draw, I don't see any winner here, what do you think? I think it all depends on the
20:08benzema factor, and if he can click with Mbappe, I think, if those two can get it together,
20:14the whole team was very fluid in the first game against
20:18Germany, but they were very disjointed against Hungary, and I don't know if that was, again,
20:22that crowd in Hungary, or whether they just had a bad day, I don't know, but it is a very
20:29tricky one. There won't be any sitting back though, because both teams have still got
20:34points to prove, so I maybe go for a scoring draw, let's make it thrilling too.
20:41Yeah, for Portugal, it's a game of dilemma, you know, a draw will be enough for them to
20:46progress, but a win can make them top of the group, so I don't know how they will approach
20:52this game, you know, whether they're going to attack, or they'll just naturally defend, which is
20:57their game, but for France, on the other hand, you know, they just need to show to the world that
21:02it was just a slip-up against Hungary, so they just want to show that they are here to win it,
21:07so I think I'm going for France, when if Giroud starts for them, he's going to score, and it will
21:11be 2-0 for France, and Cristiano Ronaldo, having scored a goal against France, so that will be an
21:16inspirational thing for him, it'll be like a motivation for him to score against this French
21:20squad, and close down to that record of 109 goals, so yeah, but still, the motivation
21:30and everything is there for Portugal, but I'm going for a France win, it's going to be 2-0.
21:35There's going to be a lot of channel surfing going on the game, because those games are
21:39going to be a lot of fun, but at the same time, so get your thumbs ready. That's all for us for today,
21:42remember to log in to gulfnews.com for all the latest news, and we'll catch you again tomorrow morning.