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Another Nations League night, another comprehensive England win. This 3-0 victory over Czech Republic made it 12 goals without reply in England’s last three games, after that knife-edge defeat by Spain here at Wembley back at the start of the international break. And while this wasn’t as comprehensive as the 7-0 thrashing over Croatia, it featured perhaps the best goal of the Thomas Tuchel era, scored by Kane after a glorious move involving Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers, the sort kids will try to recreate on playgrounds up and down the country tomorrow.
In doing so, England tightened their grip on a place in the Nations League quarter-finals in March. They still have Croatia and Spain to play next month, and are on course to finish second in the group which may lead to a more difficult quarter-final opponent. But in this form, no one will much fancy taking on Tuchel’s free-scoring England.
There are, as ever, multiple ways to interpret the past few weeks. On the one hand: wow, England play thrilling football, they smother teams, they dominate, they are both great goalscorers and scorers of great goals. On the other hand: where was this three months ago? Why did the same team toil against DR Congo? Why did they struggle past Norway? Why did they relinquish the entire concept of scoring goals against Argentina?
The overriding sensation watching England over the past four games has been like watching another team entirely from the one who stumbled through much of the World Cup. What’s changed? The personnel is mostly the same, although Lewis Hall and Trent Alexander-Arnold have added a dash of quality in the full-back roles.
Well, for one, the conditions are different now. England played like a team who don’t have a care in the world, perhaps because they really don’t. Does anyone actually remember that Portugal won the previous Nations League? Does anyone care? It is a competitive tournament in the loosest sense, and England’s players have thrived outside the usual pressure cooker they play in for club and country.
And, of course, this is a team who carry a scar. Kane and Anthony Gordon spoke clearly at the start of this break about the lessons learnt from Argentina, and how they could only accept future defeats if they went down swinging. It is hardly a new lesson – Kane also referenced the semi-final defeat by Croatia in 2018 and the final defeat by Italy in 2021 in his list of limp exits – but they have shown a concerted effort to recalibrate the dials.
Perhaps the favourable conditions extend to the weather, too. England played a lethal high press here that would have been impossible to implement over eight games in the sticky heat of a North American summer. They didn’t let Czech Republic up for air, with such a relentless dedication that their first shot on target came from the sheer force of an Elliot Anderson tackle.
After half an hour, England finally broke through Czech resistance in bizarre circumstances, when one captain assisted the other. Kane drifted out to the right where he whipped in a dangerous cross intended for Eberechi Eze on the far side. Sensing the danger, Vladimir Coufal raced back towards his own goal where he momentarily lost his mind, burying a ruthless finish past his own goalkeeper, Lukas Hornicek.
What followed was a magical second goal. Alexander-Arnold rolled the ball into Anderson standing in the middle of the Czech half and he whipped a first-time ball curling over left-back Jiri Slama’s head, not unlike the pass he played to set up Jude Bellingham’s goal against Croatia at the World Cup. This time he drew a perfect parabola into the path of Morgan Rogers, who arrowed a first-time, half-volleyed cross into the centre where Harry Kane swept home from six yards.
Every element was carried out with only one touch, a goal both economic and ruthless, efficient and deadly. Again, the prevailing thoughts were: wow, that was magnificent; could they do this in tournament conditions?
It was not just the goal that lit up the night. Eberechi Eze swayed through Czech players with the easy breeze of a man striding between sunbeds on the beach. Bellingham produced a series of trademark dragbacks that toyed with his opponents. Myles Lewis-Skelly slipped through tackles leaving behind a trail of tacklers on the floor.
Kane added the third with a header at a corner on what was his record-equalling international appearance, drawing him level with Peter Shilton’s 125 caps. It almost went under the radar that his goal tally is now into the 90s, and the century is surely only a matter of time.
These games might not feel particularly seismic in the grand scheme of Tuchel’s reign. He will be judged on the fine margins of major tournaments, on the unravelling of a World Cup semi-final rather than a thrashing in Uefa Nations League Group A3. But he made clear during World Cup qualifying how important the preceding autumn internationals were to his thinking. The “brotherhood” England created during those months formed the basis of his World Cup squad eight months later, and most of the players who didn’t show up in October and November missed their chance.
The stakes may not be as high here, but the significance of these performances may be similarly impactful when the Nations League reaches the knockout stages. Hall, for example, started all four games here in Nico O’Reilly’s absence and has earnt himself more chances. “I am very happy with Lewis Hall, he made a big impression and opened up the competition for sure,” Tuchel said before kick-off here.
O’Reilly was reliable in North America this summer and Tuchel now faces the same challenge Gareth Southgate wrestled with, weighing form against the trust he has developed with players fighting for the cause at a tournament. Nothing builds bonds like shared experience. “The longer together, the language seeps in,” Tuchel said. “We use different language and a different style of play than the clubs. If you have more games and sessions you can see it sink it.”
It was not a perfect performance, and the nervy display of Jordan Pickford with the ball at his feet was enough to give encouragement to James Trafford in his quest to usurp the Everton goalkeeper as England’s No 1. But that was just about the only blot on a night when England showed the team they can be; perhaps, too, the team they could have been.
