Czech Republic vs England LIVE: Score, fixtures and latest Euro 2020 updates

CZECH REPUBLIC 1-1 ENGLAND – KANE (5), BRABEC (9)

Czech Republic XI: Vaclik, Coufal, Celustka, Brabec, Boril, Soucek, Kral, Masopust, Darida, Jankto, Schick.

England XI: Pickford, Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose; Henderson, Rice, Mount; Sancho, Kane, Sterling

• Harry Kane converts from the penalty spot after Raheem Sterling brought down

• Jakub Brabec levels for the Czech Republic, bundling home a corner

CZECH REPUBLIC 1-1 ENGLAND

55: Harry Maguire looks to bring the ball out in signature fashion but he gifts it to the hosts. The ball finds its way to Soucek on the far side, but his finish is sent straight into orbit.

53: Jadon Sancho tries to send Raheem Sterling away but Jakub Brabecs slides in to prod the ball back to goalkeeper Vaclik.

50: Gareth Southgate has tweaked the system. England now playing a 4-3-3 – the same formation used during the 5-0 win against Czech Republic at Wembley.

48: Big improvements required from Gareth Southgate’s England. No immediate sign of that after the break. In fact, Darida has the first effort of the half with a wayward crack from distance.

CZECH REPUBLIC 1-1 ENGLAND

45: And we’re back underway folks. “Boring” “mediocre” and “haven’t got going,” were the words Roy Keane used to describe the England first-half performance. Can’t argue with that.

England faced 10 shots in the first-half against Czech Republic – only the second time in their last 78 matches they’ve faced 10+ shots in the first-half (also 10 v Spain in October 2018).

Twitter reaction

Jordan: Simply has been lacklustre display from England. No attacking impetus whatsoever. Different approach needed in the second half.

Andy: There is no link between defence and attack with 2 defensive midfielders in Rice and Henderson, it is a shame about Maddison but this clearly doesn’t work drop Henderson give Rice a chance on his own and bring on an attacking midfielder.

Richard: This is the most mediocre performance from an England team for a while.

CZECH REPUBLIC 1-1 ENGLAND

HT: Well that’s not what we’ve come to expect from England. Perhaps the bar has been raised too high. In any case, we’re level at the break. Looked like strangers.

45: Excellent wing-play from Jadon Sancho, who turns defence into attack in the blink of an eye. He wins the corner for England as the fourth official indicates there will be a minute of stoppage time.

It’s whipped in… nothing. Czech clear.

43: Lightning counter from the hosts! Schick does well to skip past Trippier and Henderson before whipping a cross into the box, where Masopust arrives to drag it well wide of the target.

41: So disjointed and static from England. Danny Rose shouts in frustration with absolutely no movement or options ahead of him.

38: Credit Czech Republic. They left Wembley battered and bruised in that 5-0 demolition. Look a different animal tonight.

35: Is having both Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice in the middle a waste of time? Both do similar jobs and don’t look forward often enough in my book.

33: That’s probably England’s second decent attack as Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson and Jadon Sancho combined nicely through the middle. Harry Kane’s blocked effort nearly drops kindly for Mount but Celustka hacks it clear.

30: Another free-kick for Czech Republic, and another Czech Republic player allowed a free header inside the box. England look a shambles at set-pieces.

27: Don’t worry folks, Trippier is back up and running again. England still on the back-foot, struggling to assert themselves and basically looking bang average.

24: Trippier is down after Darida takes out his trailing leg around the halfway line. England knock the ball out while he receives treatment.

21: Haven’t seen much from Mason Mount tonight. He’s been deployed in the number 10 role but has struggled to get involved. Game is passing him by right now as left-back Boril fires a rather tame effort at Pickford.

18: This is anything but comfortable. The hosts have arguably dominated possession and created the better chances, while England struggle to find their rhythm.

15: A corner from the right finds Soucek rising above Declan Rice and his header is poked towards goal. Brabec and Schick are close to converting but the latter balloons it over at the back post.

13: Free-kick to England. England haven’t actually scored direct from a set-piece since THAT Kieran Trippier goal that I’d rather not discuss. The Atletico right back plays it short, Jadon Sancho flicks it on and the ball rolls out of play.

10: I should mention that Danny Rose and Jakub Jankto have both been booked in separate incidents. Certainly a lot of bite in this and the referee isn’t scared to get his cards out.

CZECH REPUBLIC 1-1 ENGLAND – BRABEC

9: GOAL! England’s lead lasted less than five minutes as Czech captain Jakub Brabec bundles the ball home from a corner.

It’s poor defending from the visitors, who fail to clear their lines before Brabec knees it in at the far post. This all feels very familiar.

8: Scruffy stuff. The Czech’s want a penalty when a rifled effort strikes appears to strike arm of Declan Rice. The ball remains in play and Jordan Pickford makes a tremendous one-handed save. It’s a corner to the hosts.

CZECH REPUBLIC 0-1 ENGLAND – KANE

5: GOAL! Harry Kane missed one against Kosovo… no such mistakes tonight. He strokes it straight down the middle with the goalkeeper guessing wrong. Advantage England inside five minutes.

PENALTY TO ENGLAND!

4: It’s a spot-kick for England as Raheem Sterling is brought down by Masopust. Clear contact as the Manchester City winger checked his run. Looks like Mr Kane will take it.

3: Decent start from the hosts down that left channel. Jankto sticks a cross into the penalty area that nearly bounces fortuitously for Schick. Pickford collects.

“Schick couldn’t make it stick, says the commentator, who was so desperately pleased with himself for getting that in early.

CZECH REPUBLIC 0-0 ENGLAND

1: And we’re underway. 20,000 capacity crowd here tonight with just over 3.5k England fans making the trip to Prague. Good effort.

Not convinced about the Czech national anthem folks. Sounds like Quentin Tarantino would use it in the death scene of one of his films.

Twitter round-up

Jamie: This may not be England’s best team now, but if this team can keep playing together we’ll be in good shape for the Euros. Glad to see Rice and Mount playing, would’ve liked to see TAA too though.

Francis: No way do England have the best front 3. Sancho isn’t consistent at the moment, Sterling is amazing but Kane has disappointed recently. Brazil, Belgium, Portugal France, Germany and Argentina all have better.

Gordon: Kyle Walker dropped because of age… but Trippier is in? Michael Keane is a walking jamboree bag of calamitous mistakes!

Are the Czech’s any good?

19:30: In a word? No. Once contenders for major international honours, the Czech Republic now sit 44th in the FIFA world rankings, between Costa Rica and Australia.

Champions of Europe in 1976 and semi-finalists as recently as 2004, the side were second seeds for the Euro 2020 qualification draw after finishing second in their Nations League group.

England hammered the Czechs 5-0 in March’s group opener, but Jaroslav Silhavy’s side have rallied since that loss and a 3-1 friendly defeat to Brazil days later.

June’s home victories against Bulgaria and Montenegro were followed by a loss to Kosovo and a win in Montenegro last month, leaving them second in Group A.

Besties

19:25: Like this. ITV are doing an interview with childhood best friends Mason Mount and Declan Rice. The pair rose through the ranks together and you can really see the chemistry.

Asked what their ambitions together were, they both answered: “Win the World Cup.” Yes boys!

Inspiration

19:20: Jadon Sancho took inspiration from seeing Raheem Sterling step out of his comfort zone as he geared up for his move to Borussia Dortmund two years ago.

Sancho quit Manchester City for the Bundesliga giants in 2017 after seeing his path into the first-team picture blocked.

The 19-year-old Camberwell-born winger has since thrived and become one of the most highly-rated youngsters on the planet.

“When I left Manchester I just took that as a challenge – to try to prove people wrong,” Sancho said. “And when you do, there is no better feeling than that. I knew in my gut it was the right time to move and I just believed.

“Raheem is someone I can really relate to. Like me, he is from London and has been through the same sort of pathway as me. He went from QPR to Liverpool and then to Manchester. He has shown what is possible if you believe.”

Twitter round-up

Ross: Don’t get why we need both Henderson AND Rice, but I’m excited to see Sancho and Sterling on the wings!

Graham: Not the back four I would have gone for. Not adventurous enough and too safe. Should have gone all guns blazing from the off.

Alien: The way Everton are playing, should Pickford and Keane be starting? Also, what does TAA need to do to get a start? Positive, good to see Mount get a start.

Ross, Graham and Alien are best friends obviously. Presumably Alien is the CRAZY one…

Englishmen abroad

19:10: England have named two players (Trippier & Sancho) in their starting XI for a match who are playing their club football for non-English clubs; the last time that happened was in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final against Portugal (Beckham & Hargreaves).

Where’s Wilson?

19:05: Yes, I have the answer to the question none of you have asked me: Why isn’t Callum Wilson on the bench?

Well… he’s poorly. Sick. Unwell. However you’d like to phrase it – he’s out.

Best in the world?

19:00: Raheem Sterling is excited by England’s attacking options, but does not believe they can be considered great until they shine on the biggest stages.

The Three Lions are among the favourites to lift the trophy next summer, with the fact the finals start and end on home soil helping England’s chances as much to do with the exciting, dynamic options at their disposal.

Southgate sees few better front threes than Marcus Rashford or Jadon Sancho with Harry Kane and Sterling, but the latter knows they have a lot to prove.

“I think that there are a lot of great front threes in the world,” Sterling said. “I think with the four players you mention, they’re all players that are still getting better, still learning, but at the same time are producing as well, so, yeah, it’s an exciting front three.

“But, you know, we’ve got to do it in big games, big tournaments. That’s when we’ll be judged if we’re a great front three or not.”

England players ready to walk

18:50: An aspect of off-field behaviour that will be under the spotlight is the potential for racist abuse and the reaction of England’s players to any such issues.

While Bulgaria, who have part of their stadium closed after being hit with UEFA sanctions following racist behaviour in their previous two home qualifiers, could be the main worry, should an incident occur in Prague, the fall-out could make front-page news around the world.

England’s players look set to follow the three-step UEFA protocol for racist abuse, but Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham suggested they could walk off the pitch if they feel the official response is proving ineffective.

How things stand…

18:45: It’s actually pretty simple but I’ll go over it anyway.

Gareth Southgate’s side have won all four of their Group A fixtures so far and sit top of the table.

Victory over the Czech Republic and Bulgaria will make sure of a place at Euro 2020, where Wembley will play host to both semi-finals and the final on July 12.

Twitter reaction

Harry: Odd that Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t getting a start when it’s quite obvious he’s England’s future and already better than Kieran Trippier!

Nick: Well done Mason Mount, fully deserved his start tonight for England and been a game changer for Chelsea, just wish we had players like him at Manchester United that can change a game!

CJ: The awful not good enough for Tottenham Trippier starts for England again. The amazing Harry Winks on the bench. Weird old game, eh?

Starting XI

18:30: Some interesting England news? Kind of. Gareth Southgate makes three changes from the side who beat Kosovo last month.

Chelsea’s Mason Mount makes a full debut replacing teammate Ross Barkley in midfield.

Atletico Madrid star Kieran Trippier starts ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back with Danny Rose preferred to Ben Chilwell on the opposite flank.

England XI: Pickford, Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose, Rice, Henderson, Mount, Sterling, Sancho, Kane

Subs: Pope, Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Gomez, Mings, Timori, Winks, Barkley, Rashford, D.Henderson, Abraham.

Evening…

18:20: Hello everyone and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Czech Republic vs England.

The Three Lions caught me completely off guard by announcing their side early. I’m actually still stuffing a chicken katsu curry down my neck. Lovely image for for…

Anyway, England travel to Prague this evening knowing a victory will see them qualify for Euro 2020 with a couple of games to spare.

Should be an interesting evening filled with goals, analysis and a good dollop of indigestion.

CZECH REPUBLIC vs ENGLAND | TEAM NEWS

England manager Gareth Southgate is likely to select Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori against the Czech Republic as he freshens up his squad for the Three Lions’ latest European Championship qualifying clash.

Southgate is set to hand Mount a start in midfield ahead of Chelsea team-mate Ross Barkley, with the playmaker having impressed domestically this season under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.

The withdrawal of Leicester ace James Maddison from the squad due to illness has further increased Mount’s chances of starting, while fellow Blues youngster Tomori is in contention to make his senior international debut.

A shaky defensive performance in the 5-3 win over Kosovo has cast doubt over Southgate’s first-choice central defensive pairing of Harry Maguire and Michael Keane, with the latter in danger of missing out tonight.

And Joe Gomez has struggled for game time at Liverpool due to Joel Matip’s fine form so Tomori and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings look set to battle for the starting berth alongside Maguire.