Czech Republic 2-1 England - Review

Czech Republic 2-1 England

Czech Republic 2-1 England 

Eden Arena

Prague

Friday 11th October 2019

Poor in attack, and sloppy in defence. A less than mediocre England team fall to their first defeat in a tournament qualifier for the first time in 10 years.  

England lined up with an experienced side, one of which should be capable of winning, whilst also handing a full debut to Chelsea star Mason Mount.  

Credit Sky Sports 

England started brightly, Raheem Sterling’s tricky run and subsequent chop back earnt a penalty, which Harry Kane scored to level with Frank Lampard’s 9 converted penalties for the Three Lions. England fans were rampant and could have been forgiven for expecting a comfortable victory, but that wasn’t how the story panned out.  

The hosts replied almost immediately, Jakub Brabec poked home, as England yet again show defensive fragilities. Declan Rice slipped as the corner was delivered, allowing Ondrej Celustka to find Brabec with a knock on, and the Czechs were level.  

England didn’t seem to learn from their mistakes, and kept allowing their opponents to attack Pickford’s goal, and Patric Schick nearly gave his side the lead on 15 minutes, narrowly hitting over from a corner, with the English defence all over the place. 

The visitors struggled to penetrate a solid Czech defence, but the opportunities that England had, they were unable to take advantage of. Harry Kane spurred several chances, and the English midfielders regularly misplaced passes. 

It was no surprise that the English defence was at fault again, Masopust’s cut back found an unmarked Ondrasek in the area, which allowed the 30-year-old debutant to drive home with a low shot to Pickford's left.  

Southgate reacted and brought Tammy Abraham into the mix with two minutes of normal time left to play, but by then it was far too late and Abraham had no real time to make an impact, as England slumped to a 2-1 defeat on a day they thought they would be celebrating qualification to next summer’s European Championships. 

With Harry Kane not firing to his usual standard, Rashford failing to convince as a striker, a poor display of passing by midfield duo Henderson and Rice and another showing of defensive fragilities – despite being top of the group, what is going wrong for England? 

Kane scored England’s only goal of the game, albeit a penalty, yet he still failed to impress fans watching in Prague or back home on TV. Kane failed to make the most of the chances he had from open play and provided little to excite the travelling support. 

The inclusion of Fikayo Tomori in the senior team excited fans when announced and considering the shaky display in Kosovo by Maguire and Keane, some sections of fanbase voiced calls for in-form Tomori to start. Those calls may now be valid for the trip to Bulgaria, as Keane yet again disappointed, and caused England fans nervous moments, especially from corners.  

With qualification delayed, the chance to ‘play the kids’ or give less capped players a chance to feature for their country, in the next fixture now looks unlikely to happen, which is a shame, as fans looking to see players like Tomori, Mount and Callum Wilson may be left disappointed.