English side turn to winning formula: England revived their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 2-0 win over the ten-man Czech Republic at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. After a disappointing loss to Spain in the opening fixture, Thomas Tuchel‘s side demonstrated resilience and tactical discipline to come away with three points. Both teams applied pressure early on in the opening exchanges, with England and most notably Morgan Rogers striking the crossbar before the deadlock was broken in the 25th minute. After a late studs-up challenge on midfielder Elliot Anderson, Czech midfielder Pavel Ulic was given his marching orders after a swift VAR check.
The Czechs, after the red card was shown to Ulic, were forced to adopt a hefty defensive low block, which slowed England’s free-flowing play to fashion out openings. Despite maintaining 68% possession, the Three Lions went into the break all square. The deadlock was broken just two minutes into the second half, with a well-placed ball into the box from England’s right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold allowing Anthony Gordon to outjump his marker and score the second goal. The hosts became tentative after conceding, though, and allowed England to set the tempo with precise passing into the final third.
Two minutes later, England’s dominance was reflected in the scoreboard, after a burrowing run down the middle of the pitch from Rogers, skipper Harry Kane pounced on a loose ball inside the box to poke the ball past the on-rushing Matej Kovar. That put the result beyond doubt, and England dominated the remaining twenty minutes with undoubted authority.
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