England vs Czechia: A 3-0 win to close the international break
Thomas Tuchel seems to have figured out the England national team. With four games for every European team to play during the international break, the Three Lions left it with three wins out of four.
England has talent, and has shown this for years. Premier League clubs have been developing talent for decades, and it’s all coming together now. The most recent callups had players from a variety of clubs, including some from overseas.
Exporting like never before
One indication of England’s football development over the years, is how many players are moving abroad. As of the start of the three-week international break starting September 21, six players who were called up are based abroad, including the captain.
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, Bundesliga), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid, Spain), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, Spain), Anthony Gordon (FC Barcelona, Spain), Trevoh Chalobah (Como, Serie A), and Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga). Four of those players were based in England as of the previous international break.
All these players are playing Champions League football too, showing that they were targeted by top clubs in their respective leagues. This is reflected in the national team performances, as England played quite well this break.
Complete victory against Czechia
Keep in mind that Czechia has been poor throughout this round of UEFA Nations League matches, losing all four games and allowing 10 goals. That said, England was very good on the night.
It was a complete victory, Tuchel’s men stopped Czechia from getting any shots on target. England, on the other hand, took just three out of 17. The Three Lions controlled all phases of play, shot creation, and goal scoring.
Czechia’s Vladimir Coufal opened the scoring in the 27th minute with an own goal, before Harry Kane doubled and tripled the lead in the 40th and 57th minute. Santi Denia’s men never stood a chance.
England in the Nations League so far
The Three Lions have been impressive, only losing the game against the World Champions. After the 2-3 loss to Spain, Tuchel’s men went on to win their next three games, scoring 11 and conceding none. This includes a 7-0 victory over Croatia.
Kane, to no one’s surprise, leads the team in goals (6), followed by Gordon (3). Bellingham dominates the assists chart (4), with everyone else on one. The 7-0 Croatia routing was particularly impressive, as they simply forced the whole game to go their way, and the opponents could do nothing to stop them.
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This game was just a continuation of England’s strength in this Nations League campaign. Yes, you could make the argument that Tuchel’s men came up against very weak teams, but that would be difficult to prove.
Croatia, up until this international break, was a strong side. Czechia has always been weaker than England, but has never been a pushover. Spain is the reigning world champion. England only conceded goals to Spain. It’s a 9/10 international break for the Three Lions, especially because the Spain game was close.