This was the night when
England had wanted to secure their qualification to the Euro 2020 finals; to
fire the excitement ahead of what stands to be a home tournament, with so many of the ties next summer to be held at Wembley. A win against a game if functional Czech Republic team would have done it but, after following an error-strewn first-half performance with an improved second period, they switched off at the end to slip to a shock defeat.
The Czech Republic substitute Zdenek Ondrasek was the home team’s matchwinner, running on to Lukas Masopust’s pass to finish as the visiting defence, not for the first time, were reduced to bystanders and England were left to contemplate a first qualification defeat since the loss to
Ukraine in October 2009.