Yesterday saw plenty of goals, some quality football and another two teams qualifying for the knockout stages with a group game to spare. Belgium and Holland are through with two wins from two after beating Denmark and Austria respectively. Poor Denmark came out all guns blazing in front of their own fans, going 1 - 0 up only to be beaten by Belgium's class. The Danes had a good go but will have to beat Russia in their final group game to have any chance of qualifying. As mentioned yesterday it just doesn't seem to be their tournament. Holland don't seem to have the balanced team of the past but played well to beat the Austrians comfortably. Captain Georginio Wijnaldum played particularly well, keeping the ball brilliantly yet making clever forward runs and passes. Ukraine beat North Macedonia 2 - 1 to give themselves a chance of qualifying. The Macedonians didn't play badly but were beaten by a better team and are unlikely to get out of the group.
Today gives us another three games that are likely to be fiercely contested. Particularly the final one!
Sweden V Slovakia - Group E - Kick off at 1400 from Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg. Live on BBC and BBC Iplayer.
Sweden's draw against Spain was an excellent result given that Spain played so well but couldn't take their chances. Slovakia got an even better result by beating Poland 2 - 1 in their first game. The Slovaks defended well to stifle prolific goalscorer Lewandowski and made the most of the Poles going down to 10 men. Inter Milan's Milan Škriniar not only defended superbly but also scored the winner for the Slovaks. He will be integral to his Country's chances of success. A draw would be a decent result for Slovakia and should be enough to see them through to the knockout stages. Will Sweden play it defensively, as they did against Spain, or will they try and get Alexander Isak involved more.
The young Striker showed glimpses of the talent that got him 17 goals in La Liga this season. If Sweden were to win this then Group E will be compelling going in to the final group games. At least three teams would be vying for the top two positions.
Frenchfooty prediction: Sweden 1 V Slovakia 1
Croatia V Czech Republic - Group D - Kick off at 1700 from Hampden Park, Glasgow. Live on BBC One and BBC Iplayer.
The Czech Republic started with a good win over Scotland in their first game. The Scots didn't make the most of their possession or chances against them and with the Croats quality I'd expect this to be a harder game. The Czech striker Patrick Schick took his first goal well but the second is the goal of the tournament so far. The Bayer Leverkusen forward was impressive and could be a threat again. Croatia have the better team in my eyes though and are capable of winning here. They really need to after losing their opening game narrowly to England. Luka Modric will be pulling the strings in midfield and looking to get his front three more involved than they were in that game. Perisic, Kramaric and Rebic are all good players but none are prolific goal scorers. A theme that seems to run through many teams in this tournament. Like other sides who won their opening game, the Czech Republic could be happy with a draw here. 4 points should be enough for most teams to go through. This could go either way but Croatia have to go for the win and I think they may get it.
Frenchfooty prediction: Croatia 2 V Czech Republic 1.
England V Scotland - Group D - Kick off at 2000 from Wembley Stadium. Live on ITV and ITV Hub.
England did well to edge a very close game against a decent Croatia side on Sunday. It was incredibly even game but they got the all important goal and defended well enough to see it through. This is as close to a Derby as you get in International football and Scotland, as always will be desperate to beat the English. The problem for Scotland, as mentioned above, is that they played quite well in their first game but couldn't take their chances. England have by far the better squad with goalscorers right through the team. They'll get chances against Steve Clarke's team and are likely to take them. Sterling will be full of confidence after scoring the winner on Sunday but won't be the only threat. Foden was excellent in the first game showing great movement, touch and confidence. Harry Kane is the prolific Goal Scorer a lot of teams in these Championships are missing and will also be a danger. I'd love to see Jack Grealish play a part in this game. Even if he comes off the bench his runs with the ball could cause all sorts of problems for Scotland. Scotland's main threat against the Czechs came from Andy Robertson on the left wing. The Scots will be hoping the excellent Kieran Tierney is fit enough to support him from left back. If he plays then we could see an interesting tussle on that side between Robertson and Tierney against Phillips and Walker. Will Southgate change his team to counter that threat? It will also be interesting to see if Kieran Trippier, a right back, stays at left back for England. The decision to start him over recognised quality left backs Ben Chilwell or Luke Shaw seemed bizarre. For England a draw wouldn't be a bad result but I don't think they'll play for one.
Frenchfooty prediction: England 2 V Scotland 0;
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