GROUP D
England 0-1 Czech Republic
Ondrasek 51'
Michael Grew
Wembley, London,England
Wednesday 23rd June.
Tuesday evening saw Group D draw to a close with matches between Scotland and Croatia and here, at Wembley, between England and the Czech Republic. Due to the new design of the European Championships, much pre-match analysis was not on the football itself, but rather on the various possible matchups in the last 16. The confusion was caused by the fact that the 4 best third place teams would also progress to the knockouts, and the complexity of the explanations brought to mind Alan Partridge struggling to summarise World Cup ’94 on The Day Today. Forgive this reporter, then, as he attempts to clarify. As it stood before kickoff, England topped the group on 4 points, but both the Czech Republic and Croatia could move into first place, the Croatians by winning and hoping Gareth Southgate’s team would fall to defeat at Wembley, the Czechs by beating England by two clear goals and hoping for a Scottish victory. What these eventual final placings would mean for the last 16 wasn’t yet clear, as groups E and F play their remaining matches tomorrow, but there were murmurings that, perhaps, finishing second could result in a match-up with misfiring but dangerous Spain. The group winner, meanwhile, would likely face either Portugal or Germany as their reward.
But enough of that. Both Southgate and Czech coach Jaroslav Šilhavý were clear in their prematch press conferences that they didn’t think that such calculations entered into their players’ heads, and they certainly didn’t lose any sleep over them themselves. As Southgate succinctly put it, “Momentum is key in any tournament, anything other than winning can never be the objective”.
The teams came out into a typical English June evening – chilly and drizzly. The crowd were in good voice, clearly undaunted by the intemperate weather, and having enjoyed London’s famous hospitality all afternoon. The images of carefree fans mixing around Trafalgar Square were heart-warming and exactly what UEFA had hoped this pan-European tournament would be about. There were reports of some minor scuffles, but the Met’s policy of targeting known troublemakers and banning them from the city during the tournament had clearly paid off.
The team sheet contained one cause for concern among the home fans; Joe Gomez was unable to shake the injury he picked up in the warm up for the previous match and John Stones was again chosen at centre back. Would his inclusion prove as disastrous as against the Scots? The Czech team, meanwhile, was unchanged from their defeat against the Croatians, but much focus would be on whether they placed such emphasis on the defensive side of their game.
From the first whistle it was clear that Šilhavý had opted for a change of tactics, as Tomáš Souček was allowed to play more in central midfield, utilising his ability to find incisive passes forward to target man Zdenek Ondrasek, or ‘The Cobra’ as he is known. The English, in contrast, seemed strangely cautious. Perhaps as a result of knowing they were going through in one of the 3 available places, they appeared to struggle to hit the heights of their previous two games. Sterling and Sandro, who had been preferred to Rashford, both looked lively early on, but never really created anything concrete to test Czech keeper Tomáš Vaclík in the first 20 minutes. Indeed, it was at the other end that the major chances were being created. Ladislav Krejčí looked dangerous down the left flank, the Bologna winger causing Trent Alexander-Arnold all sorts of trouble and negating the right back’s well known attacking threat. It was a Krejčí cross which reached Ondrasek in the 15th minute, the strikers outstretched boot diverting the ball onto the outside of Jordan Pickford’s near post, although the Everton number one will no doubt claim he had it covered.
As the half drew on, England began to find their feet. Their attacks chiefly focused on Sancho, who ran the Czech defence ragged throughout the game, with Kadeřábek eventually picking up a yellow in the 34th minute for scything him down. The resulting free kick was sent into the area by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Harry Kane will again feel that he should have done better with his headed effort. It hasn’t been Kane’s tournament so far, as he recovers from the injury he picked up during the league season. England will need him to rediscover the form which won him the Golden Boot two years ago if they are serious about winning this competition.
So as half time arrived, a half of entertaining, balanced football drew to a close. The Czechs would feel that they had the better of the chances, but England were by no means being outplayed by the visitors. The crowd went for their halftime refreshments looking forward to a similarly even second half.
The second half began in a similar vein to the first, the Czech midfield providing dangerous balls out onto the wings, and keeping Alexander-Arnold and Chilwell occupied. It was one of these balls out to the right which led to what would prove the only goal of the game. Souček played a lovely chipped ball in behind Chilwell for Jakub Jankto to run onto in the 51st minute. The Sampdoria winger fired a cross into the area, where Ondrasek, as always, awaited. Unlike on previous occasions, when ‘The Cobra’ had missed out, this time he was able to outjump John Stones and connect powerfully with the ball from around 9 yards out. The ball cannoned off the crossbar and down onto the line, before rocketing into the roof of the net before Pickford had realised what was going on. The wild celebrations from the Czechs showed what the goal meant to them, as their progression into the knockout stages took a huge leap forward. From an England perspective, questions will again be asked about Stones, and Gomez cannot recover quickly enough for Southgate’s side.
England responded powerfully, with Sterling, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sancho all testing the Czech goal with long range efforts. The Sterling attempt in particular was mere inches away, skimming the crossbar as it passed the outstretched glove of Vaclík. It appeared that the Sevilla keeper would not have reached it had it been on target.
The struggling Kane was withdrawn, but it was noticeable that Rashford was not risked from the bench. Clearly, despite his words before kickoff, Southgate does have one eye on the next round, and Tammy Abraham was preferred to the Manchester United star. Although he looked lively, he never really got into the game and was well marshalled by the experienced Filip Novák.
Fulltime brought with it more of the same polite applause which greeted England’s 1-1 draw against Scotland. England had not played badly but, ultimately, the lack of an in form and fit striker had cost them. They will desperately hope that both Kane and Rashford are fit and at their disposal for the last 16 match, whoever it may be against, as England go on the road for the first time this tournament. The Czech Republic will be overjoyed to be out of the group stages for only the second time since their semi-final campaign back in 2004. They will feel that, playing this more attacking minded brand of football, they have nothing to fear from anybody in the next round.
Man of the Match: Tomáš Souček