Soccer

Czech game could be baptism by fire for Scotland’s Billy Gilmour

Euro 2020: Scots will need inspiration as they face arguably their most important match

Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour fights for the ball with Luxembourg forward Maurice Deville during their friendly at the Josy Barthel Stadium in Luxembourg on June 6th. Photograph: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Mon Jun 14 2021 - 06:00

GROUP D: SCOTLAND v CZECH REPUBLIC

Kick-off Monday, 2pm
Venue Hampden Park
How to follow The Irish Times live blog will begin at 1.30pm
On TV Live on RTÉ2

Scotland manager Steve Clarke said he had "selection headaches all over the pitch" ahead of their Euro 2020 opener against Czech Republic on Monday, and one player likely to be uppermost in his thoughts is 20-year-old Billy Gilmour.

Clarke has led his team to their first major tournament in 23 years, and his side begin their Euro 2020 Group D campaign with arguably their most important match.

READ MORE

With games to come against England and World Cup finalists Croatia, defeat by the Czechs at Hampden Park in Glasgow would leave Scotland facing an uphill task to reach the knockouts.

With that in mind, Clarke may be tempted to inject some added inspiration into a side that has shown it can be a match for anyone when it comes to guts and resilience.

Flashes

Chelsea youngster Gilmour – who has shown flashes of his talent in the few appearances he has made for his club and briefly lit up Scotland's warm-up friendly victory over Luxembourg last Sunday – could provide that spark.

With Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and Aston Villa’s John McGinn – Scotland’s principal goal threat – seemingly certain starters, Gilmour will be scrapping for a final spot in a likely central midfield three.

He has certainly caught the eye of England's Phil Foden, another supremely gifted youngster.

“Billy Gilmour is a great talent. He’s still so young and still has a lot to learn. But I’ve played against him a few times and every time I have played against him I have been impressed,” he said.

“He is definitely going to be a great player in the future and he will be a great player for Scotland.”

Clarke will have to decide, however, whether Gilmour is ready to be thrown in at the deep end having only made his full debut in a cameo against the Netherlands at the start of the month.

Nations League

Scotland and the Czechs know each other well having played twice in the Nations League last year, with the Scots winning both games.

In the first match the Czechs were robbed of their regular squad due to a coronavirus outbreak, while Covid-19 also deprived them of their manager, Jaroslav Silhavy, in the second meeting.

The Czech side is not filled with standout names like the last one to play in the Euros on British soil. That Czech team, featuring the likes of Pavel Nedved and Karel Poborsky, were involved in the first Euro final to be decided by a golden goal when they lost to Germany 2-1 in 1996.

The current side does have plenty of top-level experience, however, including West Ham United midfielder Tomás Soucek, who was shortlisted for the Premier League's player of the season, and Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick, the side's most likely source of goals with 11 in 26 international appearances.

While they were steamrolled 4-0 by Italy in a warmup fixture at the start of the month, they bounced back in their next game to beat Albania 3-1.

LATEST STORIES