England set up the round of 16 at Wembley by winning their last Euro 2020 group stage game 1-0 against the Czech Republic, where Raheem Sterling scored the only goal.
The Three Lions started strongly with Sterling hitting the post within two minutes. Shortly after, they took the lead. Excellent work from Bukayo Saka allowed Jack Grealish a chance to cross with Sterling who nodded home his second goal in euros on the back post.
Harry Kane then tried to save himself before the break, although the Czech Republic also had their chances. Tomas Soucek went closest and fired a first strike next to the post.
Assistant King ???????? … and #ENG leads! ?
⚡️ Sharp driving from @ BukayoSaka87? @JackGrealish puts it on a plate? @ Sterling7 does the rest # CZEENG | #ITVFotboll | # Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/rqIApvGwAE
– ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 22, 2021
After this exciting first half, the game dropped in quality. England largely dominated the possession but neither side looked to score.
Gareth Southgate’s side will now face Group F in London on Tuesday. Depending on the result on Wednesday, it will be either France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary.
This is how both players look at Wembley Stadium …
Boril was booked for the Czech Republic / Chloe Knott – Danehouse / Getty Images
Tomas Vaclik (GK) – 6/10 – Saved well from Kane in the first half but he could do little for Sterling’s goal.
Vladimir Coufal (RB) – 7/10 – His team’s best defender. Sterling had very little joy in him. Finished with a game high six distances.
Ondrej Celustka (CB) – 6/10 – Saw the more solid of the Czech midfielders. Used his physique effectively and dominated the air.
Tomas Kalas (CB) – 5/10 – A couple of clumsy moments and bad decisions.
Jan Boril (LB) – 5/10 – Missed a clearance that allowed Sterling to score. Saka caused him big problems throughout the game. He will miss the round of 16 after receiving a yellow card.
Soucek came very close in the first half / Chloe Knott – Danehouse / Getty Images
Tomas Soucek (CM) – 6/10 – Tried to pick up space between the lines but was kept largely under the control of club mate Declan Rice during the first half. Went very close with a snapshot in the first half.
Tomas Holes (CM) – 6/10 – Tried a man selection job at Jack Grealish – which was not very successful. Stung Pickford’s palms with a hard effort.
Vladimir Darida (AM) – 5/10 – Drifted between both wings and tried lots of crosses. But very few got off.
Schick had a very quiet evening / Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Lukas Masopust (RW) – 5/10 – Do it yourself and complete three tackles. His influence on the game in possession was minimal.
Patrik Schick (ST) – 4/10 – Barely in the game. Ducked his Golden Boot chances with a result without result.
Jakub Jankto (LW) – 5/10 – Kept things tidy and showed up all over the pitch without doing anything too impressive. Replaced at half time.
Kral enjoyed just under half an hour with action / Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Petr Sevcik – 5/10 – Slight impact after being put on at half time.
Alex Kral – 6/10 – Good hair and added a little bite in midfield.
Adam Hlozek – 6/10 – Continued to add some spice to the attack, but it never came.
Tomas Pekhart – N / A
Matej Vydra – N / A
Maguire returned to the week after his injury / Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images
Jordan Pickford (GK) – 7/10 – Made a fantastic save from Holes during the first half. The distribution was also very impressive – a powerful weapon in England’s offensive arsenal.
Kyle Walker (RB) – 7/10 – Handled crosses on the back post extremely well. Arrived sometimes but maybe could have been a little more expansive.
John Stones (CB) – 7/10 – Did good coverage and other defensive work when required. His work on death row was important.
Harry Maguire (CB) – 7/10 – Showed few, if any, signs of rust when he returned from injury. England looked so much better with him on the pitch. A consistent ball to Kane during the first half was sublime.
Luke Shaw (LB) – 8/10 – Got a lot more than he did against Scotland. A tireless achievement that caused the Czechs real problems.
Grealish was spritely all evening / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
Declan Rice (CM) – 7/10 – Dropped into a back three with Stone and Maguire out of possession. This enabled the defenders to push on much more than they did against Scotland. Replaced by Henderson during the break.
Calvin Phillips (CM) – 6/10 – Sometimes helped in the England build-up by changing passes with both slopes.
Jack Grealish (AM) – 7/10 – Seemed like he had a lovely old time. Assigned a free role and used it the most, hovering around the entire plane and causing evil. Helped the opener.
Saka was England’s player in the match / FRANK AUGSTEIN / Getty Images
Bukayo Saka (RW) – 8/10 – A living thread. His positive drive and endurance created the opener. Did a lot of other things besides justify his choices.
Harry Kane (ST) – 6/10 – His best Euromatch so far. Played a great pass and kept the ball pretty well. However, still seems to lack the killer instinct.
Raheem Sterling (LW) – 7/10 – Went ridiculously close to a second minute opener and showed a real sniper instinct to create space for his goal. Simmered down a bit after the break.
Henderson returned from injury / LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / Getty Images
Jordan Henderson – 6/10 – Good to see him for a few minutes. His passing was impressive. Had his first goal in England chalked off for offside.
Jude Bellingham – 6/10 – Did not make any mistakes after coming on.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10 – Caused problems in the end.
Tyrone Mings – 6/10 – Flawless 12 minutes.
Jadon Sancho – N / A – He finally got on! For six minutes.
