Preview: England vs Czech Republic - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off a historic crushing of Croatia, England conclude a mixed September/October international break at home to the Czech Republic in Tuesday's UEFA Nations League showdown.

The Three Lions occupy second spot in League A Group 3 after putting seven past Croatia without reply, while their visitors still await their first point of the competition.

Match preview

Never before had Croatia suffered as heavy a defeat as 7-0 since becoming an independent nation, but Thomas Tuchel's merciless England men humiliated the 2018 World Cup runners-up on Saturday evening, in the most overdue of both attacking and defensive masterclasses.

In truth, Jordan Pickford and his backline had little to contend with, as the Three Lions' inspired midfield and rampant attack tore Croatia's veterans to shreds via Harry Kane (2), Bukayo Saka (2), Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon.

As well as subjecting Croatia to their worst-ever senior men's loss - and becoming the first team to score 5+ goals in an away game against the Chequered Ones - England recorded their biggest margin of victory against a top-50 nation on record, since 1992.

However, Spain remaining perfect against Czechia means that Tuchel's side only occupy second place in League A Group 3, although that standing would still suffice for progression to the quarter-finals.

Netting nine goals and conceding none in their last 180 minutes of football, England are now on the verge of winning three straight games with clean sheets for the first time in the current calendar year, having not achieved that feat since their World Cup Qualifying campaign in late 2025.

While England must go back one year for their last three-game run with successive wins and clean sheets, the Czech Republic have failed to put together such a sequence since November 2021, and even any victory has been impossible to come by since the World Cup commenced.

After crashing out of North America with just one point to their name, the visitors are yet to even get on the board in the 2026-27 Nations League, having come up short against all of England, Croatia and most recently Spain.

Santi Denia's men gave the world champions a slight scare when Jiri Slama responded to Lamine Yamal and Rodri's earlier efforts, but Mikel Merino's clincher and Ladislav Krejci's red card killed any faint hopes of a turnaround.

The fourth-placed Czechs are now on a measly run of six games without victory - their last four of which have ended in defeat - putting them at risk of five consecutive losses for the first time ever as the Czech Republic.

The visitors' current sequence of defeats includes last week's 2-0 reverse to England, who have unsurprisingly never been beaten at home by the basement boys, earning two wins and a draw since 1998.

England Nations League form:

England form (all competitions):

Czech Republic Nations League form:

Czech Republic form (all competitions):

Team News

England's perfect evening in Rijeka was capped off by Tuchel sustaining no fresh injury or suspension concerns, after Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly withdrew from the squad ahead of the fixture.

O'Reilly is one of four England players one yellow card away from a Nations League ban alongside Bellingham, Marc Guehi and Myles Lewis-Skelly, although it may be preferable for the latter trio to be cautioned on Tuesday; they would then miss the matchday five battle with Croatia as opposed to the matchday six scrap with Spain.

Tuchel should not factor in such hypotheticals in his selection, but Lewis-Skelly in particular is a prime candidate for a return to the XI, and the same goes for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

However, the headline selection will undoubtedly be captain Kane, who will equal Peter Shilton's all-time record of 125 England caps if he turns out for just a single second against the Czech Republic.

As for the Czech Republic, Krejci's red card against Spain and subsequent ban necessitates a defensive alteration; Martin Vitik should replace the Wolverhampton Wanderers man.

On a brighter note, playmaker Pavel Sulc has served his suspension following his dismissal against England last week and is expected to displace Lukas Ambros in the number 10 slot.

Ex-West Ham United defender Vladimir Coufal sat out the loss to Spain with a knee problem, though, and his participation in Tuesday's contest remains up in the air.

England possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Branthwaite, Chalobah, Hall; Lewis-Skelly, Anderson; Saka, Rogers, Eze; Kane

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:

Kinsky; Sacek, Chaloupek, Vitik, Slama; Kral, Sadilek; Radosta, Sulc, Lingr; Hlozek

We say: England 4-0 Czech Republic

England fans have every reason to expect another one-sided goal-fest after the events of Saturday night, especially as Czech captain Krejci will watch on helplessly from the sidelines.

While we cannot envisage another seven-goal spectacular - or better - for the Three Lions, a convincing triumph and another clean sheet is surely on the cards.

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