England 5-0 Czech Republic: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

England made a flying start to their Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign as a rampant attacking display saw them register a dominant 5-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Raheem Sterling was the star of the show as he netted his first England hat-trick and won a penalty, which was converted by the ever-dependable Harry Kane. A late own goal by Tomas Kalas capped off a torrid night for the Czech Republic while it added a gloss to the scoreline for England.

Now let us discuss 5 talking points from the match:

#1 Early possession pays off

As expected, the early stages of the game saw England dominate possession as they tried to open up a stern looking Czech Republic team. The Czech Republic played a low block, remaining compact and didn’t give the home team much space as well as time to operate near their box.

Thus, the centre backs, as well as the deep-lying midfielders, saw more of the ball in the early exchanges as they patiently waited to carve up the opposition.

Southgate started with a midfield trident of Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Dele Alli. Dier is a robust midfielder, tenacious in midfield but for all his other qualities he does not offer a lot of creativity from midfield, something that is required when playing against teams that sit deep. His injury courtesy of a poor challenge by Soucek saw him replaced by an attacking alternative in Barkley.

This was a positive change which gave England added attacking impetus and more fluidity as well as balance in attack. All the possession came to fruition in the 24th minute when Harry Kane dropped deep to play a perfectly weighted pass to Jadon Sancho inside the right-hand channel who rolled in a simple ball that was met by the outstretched boot of Raheem Sterling.

This goal was the culmination of a 25-pass move and indicates to England’s newfound possession-based philosophy.

#2 England’s leaders lead by example

The England team boasts a number of youngsters, thus making this team quite exuberant, vibrant and fresh. Southgate hasn’t been afraid to blood in the youngsters into the team and has given them a chance to showcase their talent. But in quite a young team like this, the experienced players need to set up, guide the youth and show authority on the field.

Today the likes of Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire did just that with an accomplished and mature performance. Kane put in an excellent performance as he was England’s main focal point and it was his pass that opened up the Czech defence for the opener.

The England captain regularly dropped deep to act as a playmaker which allowed Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho to run in the space he had vacated or made runs in behind the defence. His strong bullish mentality, the desire to every win ball and strong hold-up play makes him a complete centre forward.

Elsewhere, Henderson ran the show in midfield as he drove England forward, dictated the tempo of the game and quickly recovered the ball whenever they lost it. He is a very important presence in England’s engine room and provided further evidence why Southgate rates him so highly. Meanwhile, Maguire marshalled the backline well and did not give the Czech forwards a sniff at goal.

#3 the Czech Republic can go out with their heads held high

Some might chuckle at the proposition of a team going out with their head held high after losing from a five-goal margin. For those, stay with me, let me explain.

England were always technically brilliant, had more incision, pace, creativity in their team to get the better of the Czech. However, at closer inspection, you would observe that the Czech Republic weren’t as bad as the scoreline suggests.

The penalty awarded for the second goal was a dubious decision, to say the least, while a kind ricochet meant that the ball landed in Sterling’s feet for the third. The fourth goal came courtesy of a huge deflection while the fifth was an unlucky own goal.

This in no way demeans England’s performance as they were brilliant, forced the issue and thus reaped its rewards. However, the Czechs played well, created some chances and were done by some unlucky moments, close calls and shoddy defending.

#4 Young and Exuberant England squad

England has a wealth of young talent brimming in their squad ready to take the world football by storm. Among them, Jadon Sancho was brilliant on his first competitive start as his direct running, sharp passing and flamboyant tricks bamboozled the opposition and got the England fans out of their seats.

18-year-old Callum Hudson Odoi came on for Sterling to make his debut and played a bright cameo. It was his run and shot that resulted in the own goal by Kalas. Declan Rice too made his debut and put in a neat and tidy performance. In spite of missing many of its first team players, this team still cruised to an emphatic victory pointing to their incredible squad depth.

After an impressive World Cup campaign, Southgate has managed to maintain the optimism, positivity and feel good factor around the national team. The sky is the ceiling for England’s young team.

Wins against Spain and Croatia have further strengthened the belief that this team can go toe to toe with any opposition and lift silverware in the near future. Today’s win provided further proof that exciting times await the England team and their fans.

#5 A Raheem Sterling masterclass

Sterling just keeps on getting better by the day. This is his second hattrick of the month and it takes his goal tally to a staggering 24 goals in 44 games in all competitions.

His pace, agility, trickery and quick feet make him a daunting player to defend against, as was the case for the second goal when he won a penalty as he has done countless times in his career.

Furthermore, there is an improvement in his finishing and he has developed a natural calmness in front of goal that has made him a lethal goalscorer. Adding to that is his smart movement, desire to score goals enabling him to get into the right position to score those crucial tap ins. Today was a classic example of that as he opened the scoring by lunging in to finish in an empty net to settle the nerves around Wembley.

Later in the second half, the Man City turned his defender inside out and finished instinctively with his left foot to notch his second goal of the evening. Sterling completed the hattrick in a lucky manner as his shot took a big deflection off Ondrej Celustka to nestle into the net.

However, it is only fair to say that everything Sterling touches turns into goals and he has established himself as England’s main man.

Edited by Debjyoti Samanta