That’s it for tonight’s blog. I’ll leave you with David Hytner’s match report from Prague on a slightly chastening night for England. Thanks for your company - night!
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Here’s Gareth Southgate “Our performance wasn’t good enough – simple as that. The winning goal was typical of the chances we gave up throughout the night. We have to accept that there weren’t enough good performances. We tried to change the shape in the first half, which didn’t work as well as it might. We conceded too many chances and gave the ball away too often.”
A reminder that there was some trouble before the game. I don’t envy the local bobbies on the late shift in Prague tonight.
Harry Kane speaks “It was down to us. We had the perfect start but we were sloppy with the ball and they scored soon after. We weren’t fighting and pressing as much as we normally do. The second half was a bit better but we didn’t take a couple of chances to go ahead and unfortunately they scored at the end.
“It’s a bit of a wake-up call. We’re still in a good position so there’s no need to panic. But we’ve still got stuff to work on, as you could see tonight. We gave the ball away too cheaply, especially in the first half.”
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Full time: Czech Republic 2-1 England
Peep peep! England have lost a qualifying match for the first time in a decade. They were nowhere near their best, despite an improved second-half performance, and the Czech Republic were deserved winners. England were sloppy and sluggish, perhaps complacent, and they should have few complaints about the result. It was a bad night; all teams have them. And it might be a timely reminder of a few immutable truths about winning football matches.
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90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min A final Czech Republic change: the excellent Lukas Masopust is replaced by Jaromir Zmrhal.
89 min “I noticed the earlier debate over the goalie slot,” says Bill Hargreaves. “I think Pickford’s saves have removed the doubt.”
I don’t know – they were reasonably straightforward. He’s a good, sometimes brilliant keeper, but I’m not sure I’ll ever completely trust him.
88 min Tammy Abraham replaces Declan Rice.
What a story this is: Zdenek Ondrasek is 30 years old, playing in the MLS for FC Dallas, and now he has come off the bench to score on his international debut. Masopust moved into the area from the right and cut the ball back carefully for Ondrasek, who swept a low shot into the corner from 12 yards. That was a crisp first-time finish. Rose went down just before the goal after losing an aerial challenge with Soucek, but it wasn’t a foul. Soucek’s header found Masopust, and he and Ondrasek did the rest.
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GOAL! Czech Republic 2-1 England (Ondrasek 85)
The debutant has scored!
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84 min The substitute Ondrasek bursts to the edge of the area, only to slip over when he tries to come back onto his right foot.
83 min This is England’s best spell of the game. A late winner would secure qualification for Euro 2020, although they have a fair safety net: three more group games and a play-off if necessary.
82 min The Czech Republic make another change: Jakub Jankto is replaced by Jan Kopic.
81 min: Vaclik saves from Kane! Barkley put Kane through on goal with a gloriously imaginative pass, curled around the defence from a deep position on the right wing, and Vaclik charged from his line to block Kane’s shot. Fine save.
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79 min Sterling has been England’s most consistent threat by a distance. Kane has flitted in and out of the match, though he has created England’s clearest chances with excellent through balls.
78 min: Another good save from Pickford! That was lovely play from the Czech Republic. Kral played a one-two on the edge of the area with Darida, who improvised beautifully to chest the ball back into his path. Kral had two men free to his left but decided to belt the ball towards the near post from a tightish angle. Pickford moved smartly to his left to beat it around the post.
76 min Now England appeal for a penalty when Sterling runs into Boril in the box. At most I think it was obstruction; the referee waved play on.
74 min Darida appeals unsuccessful for a penalty after a challenge from Rose. I don’t think there was much in it, though we haven’t seen a replay yet.
73 min Sterling has moved to the right, with Rashford on the left.
72 min England make a double substitution, with Marcus Rashford and Ross Barkley replacing Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho. Mount had a reasonable full debut, no more or less.
70 min “Gomez should be given the nod over Keane,” says Ian Copestake, “because he is regularly on the shoulder of greatness.”
69 min Rose, who definitely has been booked, fouls Coufal. At first I thought he was in trouble, but replays showed it was just a collision.
68 min I thought he was booked for that foul just before half-time, but apparently not. He should have been. He was certainly booked just then for dissent.
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68 min Sterling is apparently booked for dissent. Wasn’t he booked earlier?
67 min “Come now, Niall Mullen,” says Geoff Wignall. “Sterling was booked for his play breaking foul - that’s hardly replicating his club form.”
65 min The Czech Republic make a change, with the debutant Zdenek Ondrasek replacing Patrik Schick.
64 min England are starting to create a few opportunities. Sterling floats a teasing cross from the left towards Kane, who misses with an attempted outside-of-the-boot flick.
62 min More excellent play from Kane, who shields the ball with his back to goal before lofting a long pass over the defence towards Sancho. The ball doesn’t bounce kindly for him, however, and Brabec is able to clear on the edge of the area.
60 min: Good save from Pickford! Masopust, cutting infield from the right, whips a big left-footed curler that is tipped over by the flying Pickford. It was a relatively comfortable save, as it was in the centre of the goal, but he still had to make it.
57 min Kane, lurking on the left wing, plays a beautiful first-time pass to put Sterling through on goal. He tries to dance round the keeper Vaclik, who does well to get down to his right and push the ball away.
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54 min England have looked better since the tactical change - not least, as Glenn Hoddle points out on ITV, because Henderson has more scope to get ahead of the ball and impose himself on the game. He’s so much better in that role than as a deep-lying midfielder.
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52 min England don’t have too many attacking options among their 48 substitutes. Rashford, Abraham, Barkley and Alexander-Arnold are the only ones.
51 min Soucek misses a half chance, slicing wide from 15 yards with his weaker left foot.
49 min Sancho just underhits a through pass to Sterling, who made a fine run from left to centre and would have been clear with a slightly firmer pass.
47 min It looks like England have switched to a familiar 4-1-2-3, with Mount pulled deeper and Henderson pushed forward. And why not?
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46 min Peep peep! England get the second half under way.
“‘Sterling is booked for a play-breaking foul on Coufal,’” says Niall Mullen, quoting an earlier entry. “And they say England players don’t replicate their club performances for their country.”
What’s your narrative here mate?
Half time: Czech Republic 1-1 England
Peep peep! The scoreline flatters England, who have been surprisingly wishy-washy. They took an early lead through Harry Kane’s penalty, but Jakub Brabec equalised from a corner four minutes later and since then the Czech Republic have been the better side.
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45+1 min England break from a Czech Republic corner. Henderson plays a superb long pass down the right ot Sancho, who runs at his man to win a corner. Mount’s corner comes to nothing.
45 min “Surely at this stage,” says Matty Spillum, “the non-England eligible Liverpool player Gareth needs to call up is van Dijk?”
I’d take Karius at the moment.
44 min Sterling is booked for a play-breaking foul on Coufal.
41 min Masopust misses a good chance. Schick led a good Czech Republic break, moving elegantly away from Trippier and Henderson on the left. His cross skimmed off Darida and came to Masopust beyond the far post; he controlled the ball and screwed a tame shot across goal. Actually, replays show the shot hit Rose, though I don’t think it was going in anyway.
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37 min England have lacked their usual menace on the counter-attack. Do you see what happens, Gareth, when you leave out Jesse Lingard?
33 min Nice play from England. Sancho plays a subtle square pass to Kane on the edge of the area. He takes a touch and cracks a shot that is blocked, and Celustka gets to the loose ball just before Mount.
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32 min Schick’s header, from a right-wing free-kick, loops gently through to Pickford. It was another free header from a set-piece, though.
29 min This has been a surprisingly poor performance from England, both with and without the ball. They’re nowhere near their best.
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26 min Trippier needs treatment after being caught late by Darida. Gareth Southgate takes the opportunity to call over a few of his team and politely ask them to stop playing silly buggers.
25 min Jankto’s dangerous cross from the left flashes across the six-yard box. The Czech Republic have been much the better side so far.
24 min Boril’s tame 20-yard shot is comfortably held by the sprawling Pickford.
21 min The Czech Republic have dominated possession, and Mount hasn’t seen enough of the ball in the No10 role. Apart from Sterling, who looks lively, England have done very little going forward.
20 min “Thank you for the Mings joke, Rob,” says Charles Antaki. “Quite takes me back to the rib-tickling humour of the fifth form, circa some time quite a long time ago last century. If you can sneak in a references to dubes or Ex-Lax my evening will be made. How’s the football by the way?”
Minging.
18 min This has been an uncomfortable start for England, who look edgy at the back, particuarly on set-pieces.
17 min Another corner from the Czech Republic causes problems for England. Jankto’s wicked inswinger from the right skims off the head of Soucek and is headed wide by the stooping Schick beyond the far post. There was a bit too much pace on the ball for him to control the header.
16 min There was, it seems, a bit of trouble before the game. You can read about it here.
14 min Kane is sent to the canvas by Brabec, 30 yards from goal. England try a training ground routine, a little zig-zag passing move, but Sancho overhits his ball to Sterling.
11 min “Now I could blind you with the science behind my reasoning and throw back the curtain on the underlying psychology supporting this observation,” begins Ian Copestake, “but at the end of the day Pickford looks as though he’s going to do something really stupid.”
I have a vague theory that Tom Heaton is England’s best goalkeeper, but I haven’t checked the data.
9 min Danny Rose is booked for a late challenge 25 yards from goal. England again look a bit ragged defensively. I wonder if Gareth Southgate might need to return to a back three before next summer, although that’s not ideal given the make up of their squad.
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It was a good corner from the left, swung out at pace towards the penalty spot. Celustka mistimed a volley into the ground, but the ball bounced up perfectly for Brabec to knee the ball through Pickford at the far post. That wasn’t great defending from England, who were slow to react. Keane was the man marking Brabec.
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GOAL! Czech Republic 1-1 England (Brabec 9)
The Czech Republic equaliser from the corner!
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8 min Pickford makes an excellent diving save from Coufal’s fierce drive, palming it behind for a corner. There was an appeal for a penalty just before that, when a long-range shot hit Keane near the arm.
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5 min “I don’t know about your side of the pond,” says Peter Oh, “but here in the U.S.(A.! U.S.A.!! U.S.A.!!!), Schick is the name of a razor manufacturer. I don’t expect this match to be anywhere near a close shave for England.”
Well, England do have a Mings on the bench, so anything’s possible.
GOAL! Czech Republic 0-1 England (Kane 5 pen)
Kane jogs on the spot, runs forward and clips the penalty straight down the middle. Vaclik dived to his right. It wasn’t a Panenka, just a simple sidefoot into the net. That’s Kane’s seventh goal in four and a bit Euro 2020 qualifiers.
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PENALTY TO ENGLAND!
4 min It was a clear foul on Raheem Sterling, who checked back inside Masopust on the left side of the area and was kicked in the shins.
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3 min “Since I’ve spent the better part of my adulthood living outside Iceland, opportunities to watch my home country play live have been few and far between,” says Kári Tulinius. But having recently moved back, I thought that perhaps a trip to Laugardalsvöllur to see Iceland take on France might be in order, but a flu has laid me low. At least I’ll always have my memories of 21 years ago, when Iceland held reigning world champions France to a famous 1-1 draw and I watched Zidane move through the Icelandic defence as if he was made out of shadows and air. Going one better today would do Iceland’s qualifying chances a world of good, though a draw would be worth celebrating.”
‘Shadows and air’: what a great description that is. I may well have to delete this entry and pass it off as my own at a later date.
2 min A bouncing left-wing cross is missed by Keane at the near post, but Schick can’t control an awkward ball and it runs through to Pickford.
2 min England are, as expected playing a 4-2-3-1/4-2-1-3 rather than the usual 4-1-2-3/4-1-4-1 system. Mason Mount is the No10.
“To address Conal Huetter’s earlier question about up and coming Czech players, it’s surely only a matter of time before Slavia Prague captain Tomas Soucek gets a move to the big leagues,” says Nick Johnson. “His slightly gangly physique belies excellent technique and his performance in an extraordinary win over Sevilla in the Europa League last year was truly colossal. One to watch tonight.”
There are one or two whispers that Manchester United need an entire midfield, so maybe he’d fit in there.
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1 min Peep peep! The Czech Republic, in red, kick off from right to left. England are in white.
The players are ready for business. Let’s follow some association football.
“Isn’t Harry Wilson regularly featuring for Wales?” says Matty Spillum. “Does make it difficult for an England call-up, I’d imagine.”
My point exactly.
“Netherlands v Czech Republic the best 21st-century match at a major tournament?” sniffs Matt Dony. “Someone’s forgetting about 2006’s Netherlands v Portugal. (And maybe Wales v Belgium, but I’ll admit that’s a less neutral POV.)”
I liveblogged that Netherlands/Portugal game. I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier at work, and that includes the time I had a secret nap.
“Obviously we all heart Gareth now, but what I particularly like is how he’s resolved to evolve the team where it needs it,” says David Hopkins. “Lesser managers would have taken a World Cup semi as evidence that he’d found his best team, but he’s chosen to use it as a starting point. Great to see last year’s Rams loanees benefitting as well.”
Indeed, although it’s disappointing that he hasn’t called up Harry Wilson.
“I can’t understand Southgate’s continued refusal to pick Lewis Dunk,” says Will Morgan. “To my mind a far, far better player than Keane and Mings. He’s playing in a back three under Potter. His passing is superb - witness the defence-splitting howitzer for Brighton’s third against Spurs. And he’s a wonderfully brave defender. Thoughts?”
Yes, I like Dunk a lot. He’s not going to change the world but he’s a natural defender and probably better on the ball that most appreciate. It wouldn’t surprise me if, after a few more months playing Potterball, he gets back in the squad.
“I don’t see the Czech Republic mentioned too often as one of those ‘what might have been’ teams,” says Conal Huetter, “but that Euro 2004 team was incredible, and their 3-2 comeback win over the Netherlands still stands out as one of my favourite major tournament games. Now I’m not sure if I know where any of the current players play their club football, apart from Schick. Any chance of a new Nedved or Rosicky coming through?”
Schick is their best player, apparently, although they are due a golden generation in around 15 years’ time. That Netherlands game was staggering, probably the best at a major tournament since 1998. They were such a slick, classy side, the best attacking team at Euro 2004.
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Some pre-match reading
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“Surely,” says GP Lainsbury, “there’s a player in better form than Michael Keane?”
I haven’t seen enough of Everton this season to comment. I like Joe Gomez’s potential but he’s not playing enough for Liverpool. That’s definitely one of England’s weaker areas.
Team news
Mason Mount makes his full England debut, while Kieran Trippier is preferred to Trent Alexander Bruyne at right-back.
Czech Republic (4-2-3-1) Vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Brabec, Boril; Soucek, Kral; Masopust, Darida, Jankto; Schick.
Substitutes: Kolar, Pavlenka, Reznik, Kudela, Krejci, Ondrasek, Husbauer, Krmencik, Kalvach, Kopic, Zmrhal, Simic.
England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose; J Henderson, Rice; Sancho, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Substitutes: Pope, D Henderson, Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Gomez, Mings, Tomori, Winks, Barkley, Rashford, Abraham.
Referee Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
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Preamble
Wotcha. Thirty years ago today, when people were still using the greeting ‘wotcha’, England went to Chorzow for their final World Cup qualifier. They needed a point to be certain of a place at Italia 90, and got it with a 0-0 draw. But that doesn’t really tell the story. The England goalkeeper Peter Shilton was assaulted by a series of vicious shots from all angles and distances; then, in injury-time, Ryszard Tarasiewicz hit the crossbar with a blistering effort from 35 yards.
Shilton may have got a touch, but that’s not the point. The reason for mentioning that game - and it really is taking an age to get to the point, isn’t it; you’d almost think we were paid by the word - is that qualification for major tournaments was once a fraught experience for England. In the 20th century it almost always went to the last game, and sometimes they didn’t qualify at all.
In last 15 years, with the ignoble exception of Euro 2008, qualification has verged on the routine. It’s 43 matches and over a decade (10 years and one day, if you’re into the whole Sinead O’Connor thing) since England last lost a match in qualification, never mind failed to reach a tournament.
England have won their first four games in qualification for Euro 2020, scoring 19 goals in the process. Another victory tonight in Prague, against a modest Czech Republic side, would secure a place at next summer’s tournament with a whopping three matches (not counting the play-offs) to spare. That would be an impressive statement of intent. But everyone knows that next summer will be the real quiz.
Kick off is at 7.45pm BST, 8.45pm in Prague.
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