Gordon and Kane secure 2-0 Nations League win for England in Czechia

England beat Czechia 2-0 in a UEFA Nations League match in Czechia on 29 September 2026, with Anthony Gordon opening the scoring early in the second half and Harry Kane adding a late second that was his 87th goal for England after Pavel Sulc was sent off.

England arrived in Czechia under added pressure following a defeat by Spain at Wembley that, according to the match report, increased the intensity around this trip; the stadium’s compact dimensions and memories of a 2-1 qualifier defeat there in 2019 were noted before Thomas Tuchel made several changes to his starting lineup, including leaving Jude Bellingham among the substitutes while Santi Denia presided over a new era for Czechia after their World Cup exit.

The match swung decisively on the 23rd minute foul by Pavel Sulc on Elliot Anderson, a late, high challenge initially shown a yellow card by referee Umut Meler before the VAR review prompted Meler to upgrade it to a red after checking the pitchside monitor; slow-motion replays were described as making the incident look worse and the dismissal left Czechia with ten men and reduced their attacking intent.

Tuchel’s selection of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back was highlighted as a key decision: it was only the Real Madrid player’s second appearance under Tuchel, his first coming as a substitute against Andorra in the summer of last year. Alexander-Arnold chased a loose ball early in the second half on the right, whipped a low cross that bounced once and sat up for Gordon to head home with precision for the opener.

England had struggled for cohesion in the opening period and Czechia had been the better side until the sending-off, with England’s passing described as loose and error-prone. A 16th-minute sequence saw Gordon take a fizzed pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly and cross for Morgan Rogers, whose shot came back off the inside of the far post; Czechia also mustered chances when Sulc nearly capitalised on an Anderson misjudgement and Lukas Červ struck a volley past the post.

Tuchel reacted at half-time, replacing Lewis-Skelly—who had been booked on 35 minutes—for Eberechi Eze and shifting to a 4-1-4-1 shape, after briefly confronting the fourth official over a decision that had gone against Bukayo Saka. England’s second came late when Kane drilled a loose ball into the far corner following a break into the box by Rogers; Alex Scott and Rio Ngumoha were introduced from the bench—Scott making his debut—and goalkeeper Matěj Kovář produced a fine stop to deny Eze from adding a third.

The victory also delivered defensive reward: England kept their first clean sheet in seven matches, having conceded 13 times in the previous six games. Tuchel’s back line for the match retained only Marc Guéhi from the unit used against Spain, with Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly sidelined by minor injuries and Trevoh Chalobah partnered centrally alongside Guéhi while Lewis Hall operated at left-back.

England’s next fixture is away to Croatia on Saturday.