Gordon and Kane Score as England Beat Czechia 2-0

England beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague on Tuesday to take their first points of the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League, scoring both goals in the second half after the hosts had been reduced to 10 men midway through the first. Anthony Gordon headed in from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross early in the second period and Harry Kane followed with a close-range finish in the 71st minute.

The result leaves Thomas Tuchel's side on three points from two matches in Group A3, having opened the campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Wembley to the world champions Spain on Saturday.

The sending off that shaped the game

Czechia were on the back foot from early on, and the contest changed midway through the first half when Pavel Šulc was dismissed for a poor challenge on Elliot Anderson. The live blog describes the challenge as late and high.

England had their moments before then. The opening 20 minutes brought a couple of defensive mishaps, and the ESPN assessment of the game was that the first half had offered a more even contest while both sides had 11 men on the pitch.

Tuchel was candid about the shape of the evening afterwards. "I think we played very professional in the second half. We stepped up, we needed to be a bit more dynamic, have some more urgency which we did, but we kept the intensity going," he told ITV. "Deserved victory, it's a bit strange to get an early red card, not the best for the spectators, not the best for the team, so it's an awkward one, but an important win, and that's what counts."

Gordon's header and Kane's finish

England turned up the pressure after the interval and took the lead through a smart Gordon header at the end of a superb Alexander-Arnold cross.

Kane made it two from close range in the 71st minute to wrap up the points. Jude Bellingham nearly added a third in the closing moments, striking from 15 yards and forcing a decent low save to his left from goalkeeper Kovar before the final corner of the night.

Two minutes were added on at the end of a second half that the visitors controlled comfortably once ahead.

Reaction from the goalscorer

Gordon, speaking to ITV Sport, felt England should have been more ruthless. "I think good, quite dominant. Probably should have had more goals in the end, probably not enough quality in the final third, but a couple things we need to work on," he said. "When they went a man down, we were a little bit passive, giving them a ball a little too much, like I said, we need to be dominant, go for the throat."

He also had words for the provider of his goal. "Credit to Trent. I'd been dying to play with him," Gordon said. "He's had his own journey, would have liked to have played more than he has, but he's been a great character. He's going to be a great addition."

The ESPN write-up of the performance singled out Lewis Hall, Gordon and Alexander-Arnold as excellent, while a separate ESPN player ratings piece by David Cartlidge recorded marks of 5/10 and 8/10 among England's forward line.

Czechia's new era under Denia

Czechia had hoped to get off the mark in this campaign after a 2-1 home defeat by Croatia in their opener. Luka Modrić gave the visitors the lead before Adam Karabec responded almost immediately with the equaliser, only for Mario Pašalić to head Croatia's winner.

Tuesday's hosts are now managed by Santi Denia, who in July became the first ever foreign manager to take charge of the Czech side. He replaced Miroslav Koubek, who left his post after a disappointing World Cup campaign in which Czechia finished bottom of Group A with just one point.

Absentees and what comes next

Nico O'Reilly and Ezri Konsa both missed out after failing to train with the rest of the squad before the flight from London. Tuchel suggested both have minor issues that were to be assessed on Tuesday morning.

England travel to face Croatia on Saturday, with the reverse fixture against Czechia at Wembley on 6 October. Czechia visit Spain later the same evening.

Elsewhere on the same night, Spain came from behind to beat Croatia 4-1 to open a three-point gap at the top of Group A3, while Scotland lost 3-0 at home to Switzerland. Other results were Luxembourg 0-3 Iceland, Slovakia 2-1 Kazakhstan, Slovenia 2-0 North Macedonia, Bulgaria 0-0 Estonia, San Marino 0-3 Albania, Finland 0-0 Belarus and Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands.

SportsLigue