England are scheduled to take on the Czech Republic in their third group stage game of the European Championship and this was supposed to be a do-or-die match for them.
But, after Monday night’s results, England have managed to qualify to the last-16 of the tournament without even playing a single minute in their final group game.
England are currently second in Group D while Czech Republic sit on the top stop. Both teams have the same number of points but the Czech have a superior goal difference.
This means Gareth Southgate’s side will need to win at Wembley to go through as group winners and they will have to avoid a defeat if they wish to finish in the top two.
But supposedly that did not happen and the Three Lions slip to the third spot, even then the English side will move through to the last-16 thanks to Ukraine and Finland’s results on Monday night.
You see, apart from the top two sides from each group, the four best third-placed teams from the six groups also progress to the knockout stages of the European Championship. And since Ukraine and Finland have both finished third in their respective groups on three points apiece, England will go through even if they end up third.
UEFA have a long list of parameters(article 21.03) to determine which teams finish as the best third-placed side:
a. higher number of points
b. superior goal difference
c. higher number of goals scored
d. higher number of wins
e. lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points)
f. position in the overall European Qualifiers rankings
England are not the only side who have benefitted from these results since countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic and France have also progressed to the last-16.
Will Southgate name a second-fiddle England starting line-up vs the Czech Republic?
Some pundits think now that England have secured qualification to the next round, the manager could rest a number of his first-team regulars and give the fringe players a chance.
But we doubt if Southgate is going to take that risk since he still needs to secure that top spot in the group to be able to have the best chances of winning the last-16 game as well.
The two top sides from Group D will either face teams from Group E or Group F and both these groups have some of the best teams in Europe.
Group E has teams like Sweden, Slovakia and Spain while F is the group of death with Germany, France and Portugal.
So, the England manager is not going to take any major risks in naming his starting line-up on Tuesday night and we expect all the regular players to feature.
Five years ago, Portugal finished third in their UEFA EURO 2016 group, reaching the last 16 on goal difference but then they went on to win the tournament.
Is it finally coming home?
