Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane found the net as England earned a comfortable 2-0 win against a 10-man Czechia side in Prague, ending a turbulent day for English football on a positive note.
The outcome followed Manchester City being found guilty of all charges regarding breaches of Premier League financial rules. Nico O’Reilly was out injured, but City teammates Marc Guehi and Elliot Anderson assisted England in a straightforward Nations League victory.
Gordon gives England the lead
England at first had trouble finding their flow, with some of the defensive carelessness that led to Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Spain once again visible. Anderson missed an early ball, but James Trafford, again chosen over Jordan Pickford, stopped Pavel Sulc.
Lukas Cerv then shot wide before Sulc went close again, while England threatened at the other end. Morgan Rogers made a brilliant turn before striking the post in the 16th minute, with Anderson and Bukayo Saka unable to score from the rebounds.
Gordon then curled an effort wide as England started to find more room, but their task became much easier midway through the first half.
Czechia down to 10 men
Anderson was left in pain after a clumsy challenge from Sulc, initially given a yellow card by referee Umut Meler. After a VAR review at the pitchside monitor, the decision was upgraded to a red card.
Czechia were forced to fall back and defend deeply, letting Saka, Rogers, and Gordon test their defence with shots and dangerous crosses. Kane nearly opened the scoring in stoppage time, but Matej Kovar made an excellent save.
The Czech goalkeeper could do little two minutes after the restart, however, when Trent Alexander-Arnold intercepted a loose pass high on the right and delivered a superb cross.
Kane seals the 2-0 win
Gordon met Alexander-Arnold’s delivery with a low header, guiding the ball across goal and into the net to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the lead.
Lewis Hall, making his first start under Tuchel alongside Alexander-Arnold, continued to combine effectively with former Newcastle team-mate Gordon. His dangerous cross was turned onto the post by Ladislav Krejci, who later prevented Rogers from getting a shot away.
Kane reacted fastest to the loose ball in the 69th minute, driving a low effort beyond Kovar to make it 2-0. The England captain was then withdrawn as part of a triple substitution that also brought on Jude Bellingham, Rio Ngumoha, and debutant Alex Scott.
England sees a comfortable victory
Czechia tried to give their supporters something to celebrate late on, but Kovar again kept the score down by denying Eberechi Eze and Bellingham.
Rogers headed narrowly wide, and Scott also tested himself during England’s late push, although many travelling supporters had already left in search of an early return to Prague’s pubs.
England ultimately secured a much-needed victory against the side ranked 49th in the world, with Gordon and Kane providing the goals after Sulc’s dismissal had changed the course of the contest.