Czech Republic managed to top their tight group during qualification for Euro 2016, finishing two points ahead of Iceland and only four above 3rd placed Turkey as all three sides battled it out for automatic qualification. As it happens, all three did get through the to finals this summer.
Czech Republic do have some problems away from home though, as has been evident in their loss to Poland in a friendly in November and previous defeats in Iceland and Slovakia.
At home they have won four, drawn one, and lost one of their last six matches though, so they’re coming into this match with some good results under their belts before visiting Sweden next Tuesday.
Scotland once again missed out on the finals of a major tournament, finishing 4th in a tough group. They collected 15 points in their ten games, three adrift of 3rd placed Republic of Ireland. It did include some impressive results though, the most notable being two draws with 2nd placed Poland and a 12 goal haul in their two games against Gibraltar.
They are mixing it up a bit at the moment. Nine uncapped players have been called up to the senior Scotland squad and could be in line for their first start in the national side as Gordon Strachan looks towards World Cup qualification in the coming Autumn.
Considering Czech Republic have won four of their last six matches against Scotland and have a decent home record I think the influx of new team members makes odds of 8/11 for a Czech Republic win very good value. It’s made even better value when you see that Scotland have only won one of their last six away games. I’m going for a 2-1 correct score prediction.
Germany are supposed to be rebuilding after their dreadful World Cup, but Joachim Low has seen his team fail to up their game. Their only win since that loss to South Korea was a 2-1 victory over Peru last month. Losing to the Dutch has put them in danger of dropping out of the top tier of the Nations League, and that would be a worrying development for Low. Not only would his reputation take another hit, but their usually straightforward qualifying campaigns could now feature another European heavyweight, as relegation would likely impact their seeding for the qualifiers.
The Germans are wounded right now, but after their recent struggles they haven’t really shown any initiative to turn things around. They’ve claimed just three wins in their last 12 internationals, and that dreadful run is set to continue this week, ahead of this trip to the French. The hosts are in an entirely different position, going from strength to strength after their World Cup triumph. They were still celebrating their World Cup win last month, and they could have even more to shout about after this game.
France win is my predcition to the game.