Czech Republic 0-2 England: Report by Layth Yousif in Prague
Second half goals by Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane were enough to seal victory for England against the Czech Republic in Prague following Pavel Sulc’s 25th minute red card for the home side.
While the victory was merited, Thomas Tuchel’s side laboured somewhat unconvincingly against their well-drilled opponents’ ten men for long spells, as the Three Lions picked up their first win of this season’s Nations League.
In front of a noisy crowd of 18,930 in the Czech capital which included around 1,100 travelling England fans, Gordon’s sixth international goal in 27 matches at the start of the second half sparked Tuchel’s underwhelming side to victory. The three points were confirmed when Bayern Munich capital Kane grabbed his 87th strike in 132 matches for his country.
Speaking after the match, Tuchel said:
Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold was handed a rare Three Lions start for England, while Trevoh Chalobah, Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers were also drafted into the starting XI, with Jude Bellingham given a rest. Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly was missing with an unspecified injury, while Ezri Konsa was on the bench after picking up a minor issue during the 3-2 defeat to Spain at Wembley on Saturday evening.
Czechia head coach Santi Denia made four changes after his side lost 2-1 to Croatia in their opening match of the Nations League at the weekend.
Ahead of kick-off there was warm applause from the entire stadium for former Czech international goalkeeper Luděk Mikloško, after the former West Ham servant sadly passed away aged 64 earlier this month.
England had an early scare when No15 Sulc raced through the visitors backline, only for an alert Trafford to block in the opening moments. If Tuchel’s Three Lions defence were sloppy against Spain, then City’s Guehi certainly started in the same vein.
Having gifted Lamal Yamal the World Cup winners’ opener in London at the weekend, the 25-year-old was worryingly error-prone at the back in the early stages once again, misplacing a square pass for Chalobah, the ball running off for a Czech throw. Eliott Anderson was the next culprit to be wasteful in possession shortly afterwards as Lukas Cerv fired an effort high and wide after 12 minutes.
Stung, England swept forward, with Rogers hitting the post four minutes later after being fed by Lewis-Skelly, prior to Saka having his shot blocked when following up. Barcelona’s Gordon cut inside soon after, but his shot fizzed wide.
There was drama on 25 minutes, when, following a VAR check, referee Umut Meler sent off Sulc after a challenge that caught Anderson on his shin, the Turkish official upgrading his original award of a caution for the 2025 Czech Footballer of the Year.
With more space to play, Tuchel’s England finally attacked, Gordon playing in Harry Kane, whose stinging shot was blocked by Matej Kovai just after the half hour mark. On 37 minutes it was Gordon’s turn to rifle a shot wide.
Sandwiched in between Lewis-Skelly was given a yellow card for his foul on No8 Michael Sadilek. The decision leaving the home side fuming, with an incandescent home bench demanding a red to match Sulc’s early expulsion, that saw a member of the Czech coaching staff also entering the book for protesting too vehemently during the fracas.
As the clock ticked down towards half time, Kane turned swiftly on the edge of the box to unleash a powerful drive which Kovai did well to parry for a corner that came to nothing, as the sides entered the break goalless.
Tuchel opted to switch Lewis-Skelly for Arsenal clubmate Eberechi Eze at the start of the second half, with Gordon finding the net 120 seconds into the second half to put England 1-0 ahead.
Three minutes later Hall steered his shot wide, following a swift counter that saw the Newcastle defender dovetail well with former colleague Gordon along the left flank. Hall was to lift another effort high over the bar on 57 minutes as England dominated, albeit unconvincingly against the ten men. Hall was nothing if not determined, another surging run moments later, saw Saka turn the defender’s cross onto the post, as the visitors hunted a second goal that would have killed the game.
As the clock ticked past the hour mark, Rogers drilled a low shot wide.
However, England’s numerical dominance was eventually to tell, when Kane slotted home to double the lead on 68 minutes. With victory assured Tuchel made a raft of changes that underlined his side’s quality, giving Kane a well-earned rest, while bringing on Jude Bellingham.
There was still time for Kovai to deny Eze’s effort, before the same player blazed his effort high over the bar, while Bellingham saw his injury time shot well saved by Kovai, as England eased their way to the final whistle.
Tuchel’s side now travel to Croatia for Saturday’s clash, prior to hosting the Czechs in the return fixture at Wembley next Tuesday evening.
