· 2 min readIn this Czechia vs England match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Czech Republic and England came into their second Nations League game after losing their opening matches, but in very different circumstances. Czech Republic had lost to Croatia in a game where they were clearly second best and created less danger, while England had given Spain plenty to think about, even taking them out of their comfort zone at times, but eventually lost to a team operating at another level.
The ambitions were different too. Czech Republic, now managed by Spaniard Santi Denia, needed points to avoid being stuck at the bottom and to keep their hopes of staying in League A alive. England, on the other hand, were targeting the top positions and a place in the Final Four. They were the favourites, although Czech Republic have a habit of making these games difficult.
And they made it difficult from the start. England once again made completely unnecessary defensive mistakes, just as they had against Spain. After five minutes, Anderson gave the hosts a dangerous opportunity and, shortly afterwards, another England mistake put Czech Republic in a good position. By the 13th minute, England had more of the ball, but Czech Republic were clearly the better side.
You could also feel the absence of Bellingham. England had possession, but they were missing someone who could connect the game and speed things up from midfield. Even so, they created the first big chance. Rogers received with his back to goal, hit the post and the ball came back to Anderson. His shot was blocked, Saka tried the rebound and couldn’t get it through either. Three attempts in the same move and none ended up in the net.
Czech Republic continued to look dangerous and, in the 24th minute, the game completely changed. Pavel Šulc went in very high, with his studs landing above the opponent’s boot. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but VAR called him over. For me, it was an obvious red. And that’s exactly what happened: Šulc was sent off and Czech Republic were down to ten.
From that point on, the Czech game plan disappeared. Not because they stopped fighting, but because playing almost the entire game with ten men against England was always going to make things incredibly difficult. England reached 74% possession and had 0.39 xG by the 31st minute, although that also showed how difficult they were finding it to turn their dominance into real danger.
And there was an obvious problem: Kane was barely touching the ball. The England striker, who likes to drop deep, get involved and link play, had fewer touches than any other England outfield player and even fewer than Trafford, the goalkeeper. The solution couldn’t simply be to cross the ball either. The Czech centre-backs averaged 1.90 metres tall. Constantly putting crosses into that box wasn’t exactly a brilliant strategy.
England went into half-time with 75% possession, 363 passes and nine shots, but only 0.55 xG. They had complete control, but weren’t making enough of it.
And it took just one minute of the second half for them to finally score. Červ played a terrible pass, Trent accepted the gift and immediately delivered a cross. Gordon made the perfect run between centre-back and full-back, found the space and headed the ball brilliantly. It hit the far post and went in. 0-1.
Czech Republic realised they had nothing to lose and started pushing higher. That opened up spaces and, in the 51st minute, Lewis Hall had a huge chance after a counter-attack led by Gordon. He was completely alone with plenty of space inside the box, but missed terribly. That had to be a goal.
England continued to control the ball, but they needed a second. Czech Republic still managed to create a few moments and, in the 61st minute, Krejčí nearly scored an own goal after trying to cut out a cross from Hall. The ball hit the post.
The second eventually came in the 69th minute. Rogers tried to receive inside the box, was challenged by the defender and the ball came loose, practically begging to be hit. Kane got there first and finished low. 0-2 and finally some breathing room.
Bellingham came on shortly afterwards, with England already in control of the game. Czech Republic were starting to tire and the effort of playing with ten men for so long was naturally catching up with them. Even so, they deserve credit for the way they kept going. They ran, pressed and continued looking for something, even when the odds were clearly against them.
Eze, who made a good impact after coming on, still forced a great save from Kovár in the 82nd minute. But the game was already decided.
Post-match
England didn’t put in an extraordinary performance, far from it, but after the sending-off they finally showed the ability to control the game and secure the three points. Czech Republic resisted for as long as they could, but playing for more than an hour with ten men against a team like England was always going to be an almost impossible task.
