England claimed their first win of the new UEFA Nations League campaign as second-half goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane secured a 2-0 away win over 10-man Czechia.
The Three Lions lost a thrilling opener 3-2 to world champions Spain on Saturday, but they bounced back in comfortable fashion in Prague, with their task made much easier after Pavel Sulc was sent off in the 25th minute.
Gordon, who scored England’s first goal against Spain, continued his fine run of form for his country as he broke the Czechia resistance soon after the second-half restart, with Kane then making the points safe in the 69th minute with his 123rd international goal.
Thomas Tuchel’s men visit Croatia on Saturday as they look to take another step towards progressing from Group A3 and reaching the quarter-finals.
England see off 10-man Czechia
Czechia had the better of the early going, putting the England defence under pressure without troubling goalkeeper James Trafford too often, though Sulc did force him into action with what proved to be the hosts’ best chance of the game.
England, though, survived that strong start from Czechia and would have taken the lead in the 16th minute had Morgan Rogers’ effort on the turn not hit the post.
Gordon then bent wide after Lewis Hall won possession deep in the Czechia half, before Sulc’s night came to a premature end.
Referee Halil Umut Meler initially showed Sulc a yellow card for a high challenge on Elliot Anderson but, after being instructed to go to the monitor for an on-field review, he promptly upgraded it to a red.
Gordon stung the palms of Matej Kovar soon after, and the Czechia goalkeeper produced a fine diving save in first-half stoppage time to prevent Kane from breaking the deadlock.
But Gordon did just that under two minutes into the second half, the Barcelona forward meeting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb right-wing cross with a stooping header into the bottom-right corner.
Hall spurned a chance to double the lead when he side-footed narrowly wide after excellent link-up play down the left with former Newcastle United team-mate Gordon.
A low Hall cross then caused havoc in the Czechia penalty area as Ladislav Krejci turned against his own post, but breathing room for England came from a much more predictable source.
Kane did not need a second invitation when the ball broke to him after Rogers was bundled over trying to latch onto Eberechi Eze’s pass, the Bayern Munich talisman finding the bottom corner with a precise low finish.
Czechia did threaten to find a way back into the game when Adam Hlozek was denied by Trafford after a quick counter but, after Rogers headed into the side-netting, the hosts were grateful to Kovar for preventing the scoreline from becoming more emphatic as he turned over from an Eze volley and thwarted Jude Bellingham in the closing stages.
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