Steve Clarke urges Scotland not to dwell on Czech Republic defeat ahead of huge England clash

Scotland boss Steve Clarke says his side cannot afford to dwell on their Euro 2020 defeat to the Czech Republic as they prepare for Friday’s huge derby against England.

Scotland’s first major tournament game in 23 years ended in disappointment as Patrick Schick’s double earned the Czechs a 2-0 victory at Hampden Park on Monday.

The result means Clarke’s side will head to Wembley on Friday desperate to secure at least a point to bolster their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

“We’ll go back to base camp, lick our wounds for 24 hours and then we’ll be ready for the game on Friday,” Clarke told the BBC.

“It’s a good learning experience, we didn’t come here to learn but you still have to learn your lessons. We played some good stuff, although we could have been a bit braver on the ball.

“We didn’t work enough to get behind them in the first half, there are lots to learn from everybody.”

Schick opened the scoring with a header shortly before half-time before doubling the lead with an early goal of the tournament contender soon after the restart, lobbing Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall from near the halfway line.

“If [Marshall] had been on his line he would have caught it but sometimes you have to credit the goalscorer,” Clarke added.

“He produced a marvellous finish and from there it becomes a difficult afternoon. We showed good invention and had chances to get back into the game but the breaks went against us at the wrong time.

“Disappointed but we have to get ready for the next one. We’ll look at what we did right and what we did wrong. We didn’t come here for a learning experience, we came here to be competitive.

“Sometimes a football match doesn’t go your way and today was that day.”

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