England Are Favorites to Top Group D with Win over the Czech Republic
The hype is there for England; the good performances are not
There are plenty of tactical and team analyses for England out there so we will be focusing on pure stat comparisons for this one.
Plenty more is expected from Harry Kane. He leads the team in expected goals (0.7) but is yet to convert. He has managed just one key pass since there is no Son Heung-min at England to assist. Tyrone Mings has been strong in the back, leading the defense with 8 tackles and interceptions.
Mason Mount has been putting on the pressure and blocking the way for the opponent midfielders. He has generated 3 key passes and we think it’s only a matter of time before he gets an assist (or two). Kalvin Phillips has actually been quite exciting as he has been the key to England’s midfield pressure. On the attacking front he has been quite creative with 6 passes into the opponent’s third.
Czech Republic not to be underestimated
The Czech threat has a name: Patrik Schick. He has been inspirational up front with 3 goals from 1.9 xG. One of his goals were assisted by Vladimir Coufal who has been great all around: 4 key passes, 7 passes into the attacking third, 13 tackles and interceptions, and 5 blocks. Tomas Soucek has been good all around but he has the potential to do more. Last, Jan Boril is expected to be the an important part of the Czech’s plan to stop England.
Outlook
The Czech Republic is lucky as it goes. Maybe their luck runs off against an England side that needs to put behind their poor performance against Scotland. Gareth Southgate’s team could settle for a draw and rest some of their stars but we expect England to work hard for a win in front of their fans. The English fans deserve a better performance after the previous game at the Wembley.
Is football coming home?
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