Czechia vs England finished 2-0 to the visitors in Prague on Tuesday night, giving Thomas Tuchel his first win of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. Anthony Gordon headed in early in the second half and Harry Kane added the second midway through it, but the night turned much earlier than that. Pavel Šulc was sent off after 25 minutes, and Czechia spent more than an hour trying to hold on with ten men.
It was the response England needed. Four days earlier they had lost 3-2 at home to Spain, with Gordon and Kane both scoring in defeat. This time the same two players scored and England kept a clean sheet, their first after conceding 13 goals in their previous six games, according to beIN Sports.
How the red card changed Czechia vs England
Czechia started brightly at Slavia Prague’s Eden Arena, which currently carries the Fortuna Arena name. The key moment came in the 25th minute. Šulc, one of the home side’s most creative players, caught Elliot Anderson above the ankle with his studs. The referee first showed a yellow card, then upgraded it to red after a VAR review, as ESPN and Sky Sports both reported.
England still went in level at the break. The extra man did not bring an instant breakthrough, and Tuchel admitted afterwards that his side needed more urgency. “We stepped up, we needed to be a bit more dynamic and put a bit more urgency into our play,” he told Sky Sports.
The goals: Alexander-Arnold’s cross and Kane’s finish
The opener came two minutes after the restart. Trent Alexander-Arnold, making his first start under Tuchel and his first England appearance in almost two years, whipped in a cross from the right and Gordon stooped to head it into the bottom corner. Gordon, now at Barcelona, has four goals and four assists in his last nine England appearances, according to beIN Sports.
Kane settled it on 69 minutes. Morgan Rogers and Ladislav Krejčí tangled inside the box, the ball broke loose and the captain swept it low into the bottom corner. Yahoo Sports noted that Tuchel took him off straight after, with four games to manage in this international window.
Kane summed the night up plainly in his interview with beIN Sports: “Job done, it was a professional performance.” He added that a team that likes to defend becomes even harder to break down once it goes a man short.
Key numbers from Prague
| Stat | Czechia | England |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 2 (Gordon 47′, Kane 69′) |
| Red cards | 1 (Šulc 25′) | 0 |
| Shots | 6 | 22 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 0.33 | 1.37 |
Shot and xG figures as reported by beIN Sports. England’s goalkeeper was James Trafford, who kept his place ahead of Jordan Pickford and started behind a back four of Alexander-Arnold, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guéhi and Lewis Hall, per the England team sheet.
Nations League Group A3 table after two games
Spain lead the group after a 4-1 win over Croatia in Seville on the same night, with Lamine Yamal scoring twice. England’s win lifts them into second on goal difference. Only the top two in each League A group reach the quarter-finals, so the next two games matter a lot.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
| England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| Croatia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 3 |
| Czechia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −3 | 0 |
What’s next for England and Czechia
England travel to Croatia on Saturday, October 3, with kick off at 5pm BST (12pm ET, 9pm PKT) in Rijeka. A win there would put real distance between them and the Croatians. The same evening Czechia visit Spain in Oviedo at 7:45pm BST.
The two sides then meet again in London on Tuesday, October 6, at 7:45pm BST (2:45pm ET, 11:45pm PKT), when Czechia will want a very different night. Elsewhere in the Nations League, catch up on how Michael Olise won it for France in Belgium.
