Czech Republic 2-1 England
Fueled by the raucous crowd in Prague, Czech Republic have ended England’s dominance in the group phase by dealing them their first loss in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
This was a superb performance for Jaroslav Silhavy’s men, especially after being demoralised by the same team a few months ago.
The win gave the Czechs three valuable points, and they are now tied with the Three Lions with 12 points apiece in Group A, while Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bulgaria are all still behind with eight, three, and three points respectively.
After some back and forth action in the first 15 minutes of the match, it suddenly became a slugfest between these two teams. However, things have taken a drastic turn in the match’s waning moments.
This was the perfect chance for Gareth Southgate’s side to secure their qualification spot to the Euro 2020 tournament next summer, but the rug was pulled off from them after a late goal by super sub Zdenek Ondrasek.
It was an unfortunate ending for the Three Lions, especially as they flirted with trouble for much of the evening. Just like in their previous match against Kosovo, their looseness on the defence was a major worry and it reared its ugly head on this one.
Allow SBOBET to help you re-live some of the best Euro 2020 highlights in this fixture yesterday.
Highlights of the game
It was curious to see Gareth Southgate implement some new wrinkles like a 4-2-3-1 formation to start since it left them a gaping hole in the middle, and it didn’t help also when he put the debuting Chelsea skipper Mason Mount right in the mix since he was not yet fully acclimated with the team. But I guess you could charge that to experience.
Czech Republic’s first chance came in when a lovely cross went towards Patrik Schick’s way but the deflection of the ball went right to the hands of Jordan Pickford for the first save.
England’s first go-around, meanwhile, was when Danny Rose blazed past everybody on the left side for a possible shot. However, Lukas Masopust was there for a dangerous challenge that awarded England the penalty. It looked like a flop for me, but the referees gave the penalty kick anyway.
Of course, Harry Kane netted an easy penalty right in for the first goal of the evening. It was nothing fancy, just a simple clinical finish.
Jordan Pickford was there to save the day once again when Vladimir Coufal let out a rocket of an attempt after a loose ball. But through the Czech’s persistence they got their shot at redemption few minutes later.
Jakub Jankto’s corner at the 9th minute found its way inside the box for an Ondrej Celustka catch, who gave an assist to Jakub Brabec for the home team’s first goal of the match. The ball just whizzed by Danny Rose who lunged at the wrong direction.
As mentioned a while ago, the Three Lions’ defence was suspect for the whole evening and they got Jordan Pickford a lot to thank for as he covered them up. His counterpart Tomas Vaclik was superb as well with saves against Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane in separate occasions in the second period.
England was vulnerable particularly in corners when the Czechs had one good chance after another. Michael Keane and Declan Rice have struggled during the whole match uncharacteristically.
On the other hand, Czech Republic’s defence was compact and stout as they were great in running back and preventing the Three Lions for a clear shot on target.
The second half saw both of these clubs perform much better compared to the error-strewn first half, but both teams didn’t really get anything going on the attack for a long time.
Ondrej Celustka got a decent opportunity to take the lead after a free kick, but the pass was too wide as his foot couldn’t reach for the ball. Alex Kral would have a chance too, but it was deflected once again by Jordan Pickford.
Lukas Masopust would redeem himself in the 85th minute, as he found a wide open Zdenek Ondrasek inside the box to give Silhavy’s men the lead and never looked back.
England would have one more try via a free kick, but Vaclik was there to pick it off.
Key statistics
England’s defence conceded more total shots (17) shots on target (8), and corners (6) for Czech Republic. However, they led in terms of possession (56-per cent) and passes made (496 passes on 78-per cent accuracy).
It’s surprising to know just now that the Three Lions have not won in Prague since 1908. At the same time, this was their first qualifiers loss since they went down 1-0 to Ukraine 10 years ago.
Harry Kane is on level with Frank Lampard with nine penalties scored for the national team.
Zdenek Ondrasek scored in his international debut for the Czechs by netting his first shot in international football.
What’s next?
England will travel to Bulgaria on Monday as they aim to finally secure their Euro 2020 spot while Czech Republic will get to host Northern Ireland in Prague for a friendly match on Tuesday.
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