The players England should fear in Euro 2020 qualifying
When England were drawn in Group A alongside modest opposition to say the least late last year, it’s fair to say they will have been pleased to avoid some of the stronger sides from pots three and four in particular.
That said, they will come against a handful of quality players in qualifying for Euro 2020, and we’ve picked out one player to watch from each of the Three Lions’ four challengers.
Czech Repbulic - Tomas Soucek
England’s first opponents of the group are tipped to be their only real competition, but the gap in quality between the squads is still considerable. Patrik Schick is the star name in the Czech ranks, along with Sevilla keeper Tomas Vaclik, but holding midfielder Tomas Soucek is certainly worth keeping an eye on and will be key to any hopes of an upset.
The 24-year-old has been the top performer to help Slavia Prague reach the Europa League quarter-finals and breaks up play effectively as well as being dominant in the air. He’s a threat from set pieces too, scoring an impressive eight league goals this season, and may well be on the radar of scouts from Europe’s top five leagues.
Bulgaria - Kiril Despodov
Lacking a star name to standout from the crowd nowadays, Bulgaria’s hopes will rely on their organisation but if there is one player capable of offering a threat on the counter it may well be Despodov. The 22-year-old earned a £3m move to Cagliari in January from CSKA Sofia having had a hand in 15 league goals in 16 appearances for his former club.
The youngster is yet to break into the first team in Serie A, but possesses the ability to unlock a defence be it with a through ball or cutting in from either flank himself. Strong in the air when it comes to arriving at the back post, as well as being a free-kick specialist, we may not see Despodov’s full quality against England, but he is a player Southgate will be wary of.
Montenegro - Stefan Savic
Former Manchester City pair Stevan Jovetic and Stefan Savic remain the only really recognisable names in the Montenegro squad, and given the former will miss the home game against England next week through injury we’ve plumped for the latter as the toughest opponent that Gareth Southgate’s side will face.
Now 28, the centre-back is used in rotation in one of Europe’s strongest defences at Atletico Madrid, starting 14 La Liga games this season, and he will have a huge role to play in any giant killing over the two matches with the Three Lions. Montenegro kept clean sheets in both of the Nations League matches Savic started, with the defender scoring in a 2-0 win over Lithuania, while losing three of the four matches that he missed through injury and conceding in all four.
Kosovo - Milot Rashica
They may be the lowest ranked team in the group, but Kosovo arguably have the strongest squad that England will come up against, at least in terms of individual quality. Winger Arber Zeneli has 11 league assists to his name this season - with nine for Heerenveen before a January switch to Reims - while Valon Berisha was a star turn for Salzburg last season on route to the Europa League finals, earning a move to Lazio last summer.
We’ve picked out 22-year-old winger Milot Rashica as the one to watch, however, with the 22-year-old scoring twice and registering three assists in the Nations League last year. The former Vitesse youngster has taken time to acclimatise to life in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, but is becoming an increasingly important and decisive player, with seven goals to his name in his last nine appearances in league and cup for the German outfit.
