Soccer-Czechs beat Albania 3-1 in last Euro 2020 warm-up
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Second-half goals from Lukas Masopust and Ondrej Celustka gave the Czech Republic a 3-1 win over a battling Albania side on Tuesday in their final Euro 2020 warm-up before taking on Scotland in their opening match.
Czech coach Jaroslav Silhavy made four changes to his side ahead of their Group D opener on Monday as the hosts rebounded from a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Italy in their previous match.
Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick put the Czechs ahead in the 18th minute when he beat the Albanian keeper with a left-footed volley after connecting with a Masopust cross.
"The cross was key, it connected with my step nicely," Schick said, praising his team for sticking to their game plan.
"We had a plan, they defended quite closely... we stuck (to the plan), they had just one shot in the first half, hit it well," he said, referring to the visitors' equaliser.
Albania levelled in the 42nd minute through Konyaspor striker Sokol Cikalleshi's sublime long-range effort that gave Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik no chance.
Slavia midfielder Masopust put the Czechs ahead in the 68th minute before Sparta centre back Celustka scored their third in the 89th.
The Czechs -- appearing in their seventh consecutive European Championship finals -- face a challenge to get out of a tough group that also includes England, Scotland and 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.
(Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Toby Davis)
