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England wrapped up their September-October international break with Nations League fixtures against Croatia and the Czech Republic this week, but how did they get on? Here, we'll run you through England's key fixtures from the past few days.
England dominate Croatia
Having beaten Croatia 4-2 in their opening game of the World Cup, Thomas Tuchel's England side faced them again on Saturday 3rd October. Both sides fielded strong line-ups, as you can see below:
England XI
Jordan Pickford, Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane
Croatia XI
Dominik Livaković, Josip Stanišić, Luka Vušković, Joško Gvardiol, Ivan Perišić, Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Franjo Ivanović, Petar Sučić, Martin Baturina, Petar Musa
England started well and had an opportunity to go ahead through Anthony Gordon after only a couple of minutes, however his shot was well saved by Dominik Livaković. It didn't take long, however, for the Three Lions to go ahead. In the 8th minute, Harry Kane got on the end of Jude Bellingham's through ball and rifled the ball into the roof of the net. Then, in the 21st minute, England scored again after Anthony Gordon expertly turned in the box and laid the ball on a plate for Bellingham to tap home. The Three Lions continued to dominate and, in the 39th minute, Anthony Gordon replicated his header against the Czech Republic to put them three goals up. Croatia grew into the game but struggled to turn their chances into goals, and they were punished on the stroke of half-time when Saka picked up his first goal of the night.
England came out in the second half with the same impetus and it wasn't long before Kane was on the scoresheet again. In the 53rd minute, Elliot Anderson worked his way into the Croatia box before laying the ball on a plate for Harry Kane to score at the back post. England refused to let up and their intense pressing proved fruitful in the 68th minute. Under intense pressure, a Croatia defender misplaced his pass and Harry Kane set up Bukayo Saka to score his second of the night and put England 6-0 up. Following this, Tuchel made plenty of changes, which caused a slight lull in the game. However, in the 87th minute, England found their mojo again, with Morgan Rogers latching onto Jude Bellingham's long ball over the top and finishing past Livaković. The 7-0 scoreline was a record Nations League victory for England and established Thomas Tuchel's side as a real force in this Nations League campaign.
England ease past Czech Republic
After a dominant display against Croatia on Saturday, England would have been keen to continue their good form against the Czech Republic. To do so, Thomas Tuchel once again fielded a strong starting XI, with a few changes made to manage fitness levels in the final game of the international break. See the starting XIs for both sides below:
England XI
Jordan Pickford, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Guéhi, Jarell Quansah, Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Harry Kane
Czech Republic XI
Lukáš Horníček, Vladimír Coufal, Robin Hranáč, Martin Vítík, Jiří Sláma, Alex Král, Michal Sadílek, Pavel Šulc, Lukáš Ambros, Ryan Naderi, Ondřej Lingr
England had the majority of the ball from the outset, but struggled to turn that possession into clear chances early on, with Czech goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček tipping away an early Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick. The Czechs held strong until the 27th minute, when Harry Kane picked up the ball on the right flank and whipped in a low cross. Vladimír Coufal, who was under no pressure as he tried to clear, misjudged the ball and inadvertently turned it past his own keeper to put England 1-0 up.
After going 1-0 up, England were purring and it didn't take long for the Three Lions to double their lead. In the 40th minute, Elliot Anderson chipped a pinpoint pass to Morgan Rogers on the right flank, and Rogers crossed for Harry Kane, who had plenty of time and space to finish from close range and celebrate his 125th England cap, which equals the record held by Peter Shilton, in style.
England came out after half-time and continued to look threatening, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham linking particularly well, and it only took twelve minutes for Thomas Tuchel's side to score another goal. In the 57th minute, England won a corner, which was taken by Newcastle United's Lewis Hall. Hall swept in a deep cross, with Harry Kane leaping the highest and directing his header into the bottom corner at the far post to put England three up.
With Tuchel's side 3-0 up, the German coach decided to rotate his side, bringing on the likes of James Garner, Jarrad Branthwaite, Rio Ngumoha, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who replaced Kane to a standing ovation from the Wembley crowd. Although the changes were necessary, they did slightly inhibit the flow of the game, and England failed to score another goal, with the match ending 3-0.
Thomas Tuchel will be pleased to have rounded off the international break with another win, but with two more Nations League fixtures still to come, at home to Croatia on 12th November and away to Spain on 15th November, the German coach will be keen to keep the momentum going to chase down group leaders Spain.
