We've had an interesting few opening days of the tournament so far. The collapse of Christian Eriksen was shocking but luckily stringent medical staff stopped the situation from becoming a tragedy. Apart from Eriksen's health the tournament was in jeopardy. The decision to carry on with the game once Eriksen was stable was probably correct but harsh on his teammates who must not have felt like playing. It will be interesting to see how Denmark react in there next game against an impressive Belgium side on Thursday. Since then we've seen some interesting matches, a big win for England against a decent Croatia side and a Classic thriller between Holland and Ukraine which included a screamer of a goal from Andriy Yarmolenko. The Eriksen collapse aside it's been a good start to the tournament. Lets see what today brings.
Scotland V Czech Republic - Group D - Kick off at 1400 from Hampden Park, Glasgow. Live on BBC One and BBC Iplayer.
Like England yesterday Scotland have home advantage today. Although the grounds aren't full playing at your home ground must be easier than travelling and setting up camp in a different Country. Like a lot of the lesser fancied teams in the tournament Scotland's form has been patchy over the last year. they've beaten teams they'd be expected to like Kazakhstan and Cyprus but lost heavily to more quality opposition like Belgium and Russia. They did beat the Czechs in September last year in a tight 1 - 2 victory at the Andrův stadion. We could see a similarly tight game here today. If either team lose today it will be very difficult for them to qualify. These sides seem well matched with the Czechs having similar form to the Scots and both teams having some good players. It will be interesting to see if Scotland play both Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney (pictured). The two left backs are amongst Scotland's best players so we could see one of them start on the wing. The Czechs will be looking for their influential midfielder Tomáš Souček to get a foothold on this game.
Frenchfooty prediction: Scotland 1 V Czech republic 1
Poland V Slovakia - Group E - Kick off at 1700 from Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg. Live on ITV and ITV Hub.
This game is similar to the match that precedes it with two well matched teams who will struggle to qualify if they lose this game. With Spain in the same group these teams will be fighting it out with Sweden to finish in second place. Poland have the star player in Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich Striker 66 goals for his Country in 119 caps. A good record by anyone's standards. He scored 48 goals during his domestic season in Germany and could well be on the scoresheet today. Slovakia have decent players in Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar and IFK Gothenburg Marek Hamsik previously of Napoli. This could be another close one.
Frenchfooty prediction: Poland 1 V Slovakia 0.
Spain V Sweden - Group E - Kick off at 2000 from Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville. Live on BBC One and BBC Iplayer.
Although they are not the force they once were Spain are the clear favourites in this group. Managed by Serial Winner Luis Henrique they still have a better squad than most. There are some issues for Spain that Sweden will look to exploit. David De Gea has lost the form that saw him as one of the Worlds best keepers, often losing his place for Man United to England's Dean Henderson this season. It was also interesting to hear Jose Mourinho comment recently on their lack of a prolific goal scorer. Alvaro Morata is no David Villa for example. They still have experience and quality in abundance though with Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Cesar Azpilicueta and more. It will be interesting to see how Aymeric Laporte does in his first international tournament after switching Nationality from France. Something that was allowed after recent changes to Fifa's ruling on switching National teams. Another curious aspect to Spain is that they only only chose to take 24 players instead of the allowed 26. Does that also point to a lack of quality compared to other years? Sweden clearly don't have as many quality players as Spain. They do have though young exciting Real Socieded Striker Alexander Isak. The 21 year old scored 17 goals in La Liga this season and Arsenal are reportedly interested in him.
Frenchfooty prediction: Spain 2 V Sweden 0
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