AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth legend Steve Fletcher thinks Jack Grealish could be England’s trump card as they bid to claim the European Championship bragging rights.
Fletcher, writing his third Euro 2020 column for afcb.co.uk, is predicting a starting role for the Aston Villa playmaker in their second Group D clash against Scotland on Friday.
Grealish was an unused substitute as Raheem Sterling bagged the only goal to help the Three Lions win their opening game against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday.
Scotland will be looking for their first points of the tournament having gone down 2-0 against Czech Republic on Monday.
Cherries’ appearance record holder Fletcher, whose grandfather Jack Howe was capped by England in the 1940s, will be penning his opinions for afcb.co.uk throughout the tournament.
I think Gareth Southgate will make a couple of changes and I think Jack Grealish will play.
He’s an incredibly-talented player with outstanding ability.
I’m not comparing him with Gazza because Grealish isn’t quite there yet but he’s the most Gazza-like player we have had for a long time.
England fans of a certain age will have fond memories of Gazza lighting up Euro 96 with his exploits against the Scots.
His flick over Colin Hendry and wonderful finish for the goal will live long in the memory.
I know we went on to lose to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals but, as an England supporter, it was a great day at Wembley beating the Scots.
If there’s anyone in the current squad who can produce a bit of magic like Gazza did 25 years ago, it’s Grealish.
Everybody remembers what happened at Euro 96 and we want a repeat of that while Scotland will want to get revenge and erase the memory of that day.
I think Gareth will look to his creative players because I think it’s going to be that type of game.
Gareth knows Scotland aren’t going to full press us and try to go toe to toe with us because we’ve got the players who could hurt them and open them up if they try that approach.
I know I’m not the Scotland manager but I can’t imagine for a second he will try to match us.
Tactically is where Scotland will have more of a chance. They are probably going to have to sit in at times, allow us to have a lot of the ball and maybe try to hit us on the counter.
We will need our creative players in and around the box and Grealish is one of those types of players, as is Phil Foden.
In my opinion, our creative players can be our matchwinners in what is a big game for both teams and for both sets of supporters.
Of all the teams in the British Isles, this is the biggest rivalry.
It always has been and goes back centuries. It’s not just football, it goes back to William Wallace and all that!
When it comes to any sporting event, the Scots always want to get one over us, probably more than we do them.
I think that goes for all the teams in the UK, whether it’s Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic.
They always want to get one over the English, probably because we’re the largest country in the UK and we get a lot of publicity.
I don’t think it matters which sport it is but the rivalry is especially great in football. For them, this is their one chance to get one over the English.
I know some people will disagree but I think it’s more of a friendly rivalry and I don’t think there’s too much hatred these days.
We all have friends who are Scottish and Scottish people all have friends who are English. We want to beat them and they want to beat us. It’s as simple as that.
Speaking purely for myself, when Scotland play any other team, I want them to win but I don’t think the majority of Scots think that about England.
To keep alive their hopes of going through, I think Scotland need the minimum of a draw. I don’t think either team would want a draw, although for us, it wouldn’t be the worse result.
If it were to finish all square, Scotland would need to win their final group game against Croatia.
I can’t see either team going for a draw and think they will both go all out for the win.
On paper, we have the better team and squad. I don’t think even the most passionate Scottish supporter would disagree with that.
Yes, they’ve got some good players who play in the Premier League but, overall, our squad is stronger.
But you don’t win major tournaments on paper. You have to perform.
We have to do what we did against Croatia. We have to be disciplined and we need our big players to deliver.
