Euro 2020 qualifiers: 3 reasons why England beat the Czech Republic

#1 England no longer play with their food

England finally seem to be able to deal with lower-level teams in dominant fashion

Just a handful of years ago – back in the early days of Gareth Southgate’s reign even – England always struggled against lower-level opposition, who were willing to drop deep and defend in numbers against them. Teams like Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania often stifled the Three Lions into dull, drawn-out games that would simply send the fans’ interest levels plummeting. Tonight though, that wasn’t the case at all.

England looked slightly slow to settle into a rhythm in the first half, but once they kicked into gear they overwhelmed the Czechs with their range of passing and in particular the pace they were able to push with when they were coming forward. On more than one occasion the Czech defense looked completely out of their depth, particularly when the exuberant debutant Callum Hudson-Odoi was dribbling at them – something which led to Kalas’ diabolical own goal late in the game.

This wasn’t the first time in recent memory that England has been able to put a weaker, more defensive opponent to the sword in dominant fashion – they did the same to Panama and the USA in 2018. England fans will hope that the performance tonight bodes well for them against the other sides in their qualification group; Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Kosovo, who could all be considered weaker than the Czechs.

If England can continue to play at the tempo that they did tonight, none of those teams will stand much of a chance against them. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of the Three Lions as Gareth Southgate continues to do a stellar job in charge.