England managed to secure its first victory in the Nations League, defeating the Czech Republic 2-0 on Tuesday evening. Goals were scored by Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, allowing the team to start its Nations League campaign successfully.
Thomas Tuchel's team had previously lost to world champions Spain 3-2 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, while the Czech Republic lost to Croatia.
In the first half, the home team struggled to keep England on the pitch at Fortuna Arena despite the numerical advantage of their opponents, but Gordon managed to open the scoring shortly after the break, and Kane provided England with a cushion.
Thomas Tuchel called this victory 'deserved,' noting that an early player sending-off is not the best scenario for either the spectators or the team, but emphasized the importance of the win.
Tuchel made four changes to the starting lineup, replacing players who played over the weekend, and brought in Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold for his first start in almost two years.
Despite England dominating possession at the start of the match, the home team showed bright moments in the second half. After a brilliant rotation in the penalty area by Morgan Rogers, who replaced Jude Bellingham, he hit the crossbar 15 minutes later, and then Elliot Anderson and Bukayo Saka were stopped when the ball deflected.
The course of the game changed in the 25th minute when Lyon midfielder Paul Sülz was sent off for a hard tackle on Anderson. Initially, he received a yellow card, but Turkish referee Umut Meler upgraded it to red after reviewing the video replay (VAR).
After this, the Czechs entered survival mode while England looked for opportunities near the penalty area, but they failed to create significant chances. Captain Kane approached the goal closer to the end of the first half, but goalkeeper Matej Kovar deflected his curved shot wide.
The visitors finally opened the scoring early in the second half when energetic Gordon headed a precise cross from Alexander-Arnold back to Kovar and scored. Alexander-Arnold stated that it is always a great honor and pleasure for him to represent his country.
This was Gordon's third goal in three matches for England, including a goal against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final and another against Spain.
Defender Lewis Hall came close to doubling England's lead a few minutes later but missed, while Czech captain Ladislav Krejčí accidentally directed Hall's cross into his own crossbar.
Kane, who also scored against Spain, gave England a breather in the middle of the second half by powerfully shooting past Kovar after the ball reached him in the penalty area.
Tuchel made several substitutions, and England created many other chances, but Kovar managed to hold off the attack.
Thanks to this victory, England secured second place in Group A3, three points behind Spain, which defeated Croatia 4-1 in Seville. England will play against Croatia on Saturday, while the Czechs will play against Spain.