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.
Written by David Hytner at the Sinobo Stadium
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/11/czech-republic-england-euro-2020-qualifier-match-report under the title “Czech Republic inflict first qualifier defeat on England in 10 years”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
