Euro 2020: Croatia cancel plan for Scotland base

Croatia have cancelled plans to base themselves at St Andrews in Scotland for the European Championship, instead choosing to remain in Rovinj back home and then fly over for games, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) said on Monday.

The HNS received a recommendation from UEFA to change the location of its team base camp for this summer’s tournament, due to the potential impact of the Scottish COVID-19 regulations on their preparation for matches.

“Considering the present circumstances, I think this is the best option for the team,” head coach Zlatko Dalic said.

“We have excellent conditions here, the accommodation will be impeccable, and the training ground is of high quality – in the limited amount of time we had to make this decision, no other location could guarantee us all of the above.

“We’ll do our best to keep the team isolated and in peace. We now have a unique opportunity to spend this tournament in our own country.”

Croatia open their Euro 2020 campaign against England at Wembley on June 13, before taking on Czech Republic and Scotland (June 18 and 22), both at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The Czech national team said on Saturday they will also not establish a base camp in Scotland for their European Championship group stage games to avoid the entire team having to quarantine if one member returns a positive COVID-19 test.

The Czechs are in Group D along with Scotland, Croatia and England, playing their first two matches in Glasgow before the final group game against England in London. They were due to base themselves in Edinburgh for the tournament.