Gordon and Kane fire England to Nations League victory against 10-man Czechia

Anybody can lose to Spain. But when England did so at Wembley on Saturday, it served to turn the temperature up on on this trip to Czechia, where England have form for finding it difficult. Remember the European championship qualifier here in 2019 when they lost 2-1?

It was not easy at first. Thomas Tuchel shuffled his pack, making the surprise decision to start Jude Bellingham among the substitutes. It was all a little angsty and Czechia , for whom this is the start of a new era under the Spaniard Santi Denia after their World Cup wash-out, dared to dream about another upset.

Then everything changed. It was a rash challenge in the 23rd minute by Pavel Sulc on Elliot Anderson, late and high, albeit nothing overtly nasty. The referee, Umut Meler, showed the Czechia midfielder a yellow card and on we went. Yet the video assistant referee was not happy and when Meler was called to the monitor, everybody knew what was coming next.

It was a red card to disfigure the contest but Tuchel was not complaining. His players made the most of the decision to get their Nations League campaign up and running, the stand-out moment being provided by Tuchel’s headline selection.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was in from the cold at the outset for only his second appearance under Tuchel; the first was as a substitute against Andorra in the summer of last year. And it was the Real Madrid player who helped to unlock the stalemate at the beginning of the second half, his whipped cross made to measure for Anthony Gordon.

Harry Kane added the second with his 87th England goal and, after all the focus on England’s defensive vulnerability, there was the bonus for Tuchel of a first clean sheet in seven matches. The team had conceded 13 times in the previous six. It did not start particularly well. By the end, it was a stroll.

The rare inclusion of Alexander-Arnold at right-back was the wildcard. Any team with him in it feels more nuanced and it meant Tuchel retained only Marc Guéhi from the back four against Spain. Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly had minor injuries. With Trevoh Chalobah in central defence and Lewis Hall at left-back, it was a completely untested unit.

England lacked cohesion at the outset. There were errors from them and it was easy to fret about their lack of care on the ball; the looseness of some of the passing. They looked to build through Elliot Anderson but the midfielder got away with one in the early running when he misjudged a high ball up the channel and Sulc had the sniff of an opening. Chalobah chased back to put him off.

The red card changed the feel of the occasion. Czechia had been the better team until then. England could highlight the moment on 16 minutes when Gordon took a fizzed pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly and crossed low for Morgan Rogers. The man who came in for Bellingham spun and sent Czechia had other flickers. Lukas Cerv hit a sweet volley past the post. Sulc choose the wrong option when well-placed and was crowded out by Guéhi and Chalobah.

Czechia felt their attacking ambition evaporate. England came to dominate the ball. What could they do with it? Not much before the interval. Kane took another incisive ball from Lewis-Skelly and extended Matej Kovar in the 45th minute. England had to do more.

Tuchel finished the first half in an almighty funk at the fourth official after a decision had gone against Bukayo Saka.

The manager reset at the interval, sending on Eberechi Eze for Lewis-Skelly, who was booked on 35 minutes, and going to 4-1-4-1. Lewis-Skelly had lunged in on Cerv, whose screams could be heard up in the press box. The Czechs wanted a red card to even things up. It was not that bad but Tuchel could not take any chances with Lewis-Skelly.

England got the breakthrough almost immediately and it was one for the Alexander-Arnold lovers. When Czechia coughed up the ball cheaply, he chased it down on the right, turned and did what he does. The pinged cross had a low trajectory and it bounced once before sitting up for Gordon, whose headed conversion was marked by precision. It was deserved reward for Gordon, who was quick and urgent; he was the player most likely to spark England.

Hall began to surge up the line. He shot inches wide after getting a pass back from Gordon while he watched Ladislav Krejci turn a low cross from him against his own post. The Gordon goal had relaxed England and the Kane goal was inevitable. It came when he drilled a loose ball into the far corner after a break into the box by Rogers.

Tuchel got Alex Scott on for his debut and he did well. Ditto Rio Ngumoha, who also came off the bench. England might have scored more with Kovar making a particularly fine save to deny Eze.