12:35
“Very much feeling the hope and despair vibe,” says Lizz Poulter, “but right now I feel this is a lose/lose match. If England win, the chances are they’ll top the group and have a harder time going forward. If England lose, ENGLAND LOSE!, which is a terrible way to start the tournament. Still, at least we’re all feeling the love for Christian Eriksen and Denmark.”
It’s a very good point. If England win the group they stay at Wembley for the last 16 – but they would have to play the team that finishes second in the France/Germany/Portugal/Hungary group. If they finish second they should have an easier game, but they would lose home advantage. If they finish third, you can do your own wallchart because I haven’t a clue what happens then.
12:30
Croatia If you want to know more about how their team has evolved since they reached the World Cup final, Aleksandar Holiga is your friend.
12:26
This isn’t going to end well, is it
12:20
Croatia’s recent form is poor, with seven defeats in the last 13 games. But they are still a dangerous, streetwise team, and you don’t need to read between too many lines to know how much they would love to do a number on England today.
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12:11
We have a separate liveblog for all the other Euro 2020 business. I’m happy to report that the news on Christian Eriksen remains positive.
12:10
Early team news/pre-match mellow-harshing
The word on the social media street is that Jack Grealish won’t start for England. This is the reported team, in the popular 4-2-3-1 formation: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Mings, Trippier; Phillips, Rice; Foden, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Thoughts? I think the security of Phillips and Rice is essential, but I would have played Grealish and probably Jadon Sancho ahead of Sterling and Foden. Kieran Trippier at left-back is also an interesting decision.
11:49
Preamble
Dear reader, meet Hope and Despair. If you’re an England supporter, they’ll be staying at your place for the next few weeks. They’re a well-meaning pair, if a little high maintenance, and they’ve already invited a few of their friends round for the England games: Giddiness, Hype, Anger, Hubris and even Racism, though you don’t have to answer the door to that particular clown.
Yep, it’s time for a new series of everyone’s favourite tragicomedy: England’s attempt to win a second major tournament. This is their 20th attempt at glory since 1966, not including the tournaments they failed to reach, but only the second in which they have had home advantage.
IT’S ONLY JOLLY WELL COMING HOME
They start with a tricky game against their old friends Croatia, who put England out of their optimism at the last World Cup; then it’s Scotland on Friday and the Czech Republic a week on Tuesday. One way or another, it’s going to be emotional.
Kick off 2pm.
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