England vs Czech Republic Tipster: Back Sancho to make his mark

England will be confident of securing all three points when they welcome the Czech Republic to Wembley tonight. The Three Lions are unbeaten in their last 18 European Championship qualifiers and will be aiming to extend that run on home turf with another three points. Czech Republic impressed in the UEFA Nations League, but without key creator Borek Dockal and number one goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, they are tipped to struggle. 

The start of qualifying ushers in an exciting new period for England under Gareth Southgate. There is a pool of young talent that has more than enough to get bums off of seats starting tonight. Marcus Rashford’s withdrawal from the England squad means Jadon Sancho is set to feature from the off in a three-pronged attack involved Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. 

Callum Hudson-Odoi is another option for Southgate, with the Chelsea ace handed a place in the squad as a result of Rashford's injury, but the England boss is expected to hand Sancho his full debut. It would be nothing less than Sancho deserves either with the teenager in excellent form for Borussia Dortmund this season. 

Having initially been utilised as an impact sub at the beginning of the season, Sancho is one of Dortmund’s undroppable stars with his WhoScored rating (7.53) better than any other teenager in Europe’s top five leagues this season. He’s made more key passes (54) and completed more dribbles (83) than any other teenager this term reinforcing statistically calculated WhoScored strengths of ‘key passes’ and ‘dribbling’. 

However, it’s another stat that really stands out, and while it is dependent on his teammates hitting the back of the net, no player has registered more assists than Sancho (12) in Europe’s top five leagues this season, matching no other than Lionel Messi for that return. Illustrious company indeed! Of course, total assists is a figure determined on a teammate scoring, yet the chances created are of the requisite quality that present Dortmund players with the ideal opportunity to hit the back of the net. 

With the likes of Kane and Sterling operating alongside Sancho for England tonight, supporters will hope he can extend that assist record on the international stage at the Czech Republic’s expense. He may have failed to create a goalscoring chance during his limited UEFA Nations League action, yet as he gears up for his first ever England start, it won’t be long before he picks the pass that results in a chance. 

In that case, then, Sancho to provide an assist in England’s Euro 2020 qualifying meeting with Czech Republic tonight is available at a tempting 2.75 with Bet365. Given his assist record for his club this season, he can be expected to transfer this creative quality to the international stage. Czech Republic may have a solid away record in European Championship qualifying in the past, but they are far from solid at the back and if Sancho can get the better of his opposite number tonight, then Sancho to assist at Wembley is well worth backing.