Harry's analysis
England captain Harry Kane says there's no panic in the Three Lions camp after defeat in Prague
'No panic' for Kane
Harry Kane says there’s no panic within the England camp as they re-set their sights on EURO 2020 qualification.
The Three Lions slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Czech Republic on Friday, after coming into the game knowing a win would be enough to see them qualify.
But despite Kane’s early penalty giving England the lead, the hosts bounced back to seal victory following a late winner from Zdenek Ondrasek and the captain believes England can only look at themselves.
"I think it was down to us,” he admitted. “We went ahead early, which is the perfect start to an away game, but after that we were sloppy with the ball.
"They scored not long after and then we just didn't move the ball as quickly as we usually do and we weren't fighting as much as we normally do.
"In the second half, we had a couple of chances to put the game to bed, but we didn't so unfortunately we gave one away at the end.”
England will now turn their attention to preparing for the trip to Sofia, where they tackle Bulgaria on Monday.
And the Spurs striker says they will head further east with no excuses for what happened in Prague.
"Every away game in Europe is difficult,” he added. “They had the crowd behind them and maybe the pitch isn’t as easy to play on, but that’s no excuse - we've played in these games before and we have to do better than tonight.
"It's a bit of a wake-up call, but of course we're still in a good position so there's no need to panic.
"We have to go and win the game on Monday and, for sure, there's stuff that we have to go and work on.
"We'll go back, reflect and look at it, we'll regroup and we'll go again on Monday.”
Euro Qualifying head-to-head
Three Lions lose in Prague
Three Lions suffer EURO 2020 qualifying setback after a late winner in Prague sees Czechs run out on top
Match Report
England’s hopes of sealing early qualification for UEFA EURO 2020 took a blow in Prague, as the Three Lions slipped to defeat against Czech Republic.
Gareth Southgate’s team knew a victory in this game would be enough to confirm England’s spot at next summer’s Finals, but after taking an early lead through Harry Kane’s penalty, the hosts hit back to pick up a deserved win.
It’s the first qualifying game, in either the Euros or World Cup, which England have lost in a decade and the squad will now move on to their next game with Bulgaria knowing three points are vital ahead of the final two group games in November against Montenegro and Kosovo.
The game had begun so differently too, with a dream start for the Three Lions who took the lead within five minutes as they looked to pick up where they left off last month - on the front foot.
Raheem Sterling raced onto a slick Kane pass into the area before having his legs swept in the box after a clever cut-back and being awarded a penalty.
Kane duly stepped up and despatched the spot-kick with authority to seemingly get things underway for England.
But they weren’t level for long, as a floated corner from the left went uncleared and when Ondrej Celustka scuffed a shot towards goal, the ball found its way to his central defensive partner Jakub Brabec who turned home at the far post.
The goal gave the Czechs a lift after their early setback and also knocked England’s early rhythm, which they struggled to find again during a first half in which the hosts enjoyed the better of the ball and attempts but without ever really threatening Jordan Pickford.
That changed after the break though, as Pickford was called upon after an hour, having to tip over Lukas Masopust’s stinging effort moments after his opposite number Tomas Vaclik had made an equally smart save to scoop the ball from Sterling in the box.
The England keeper was tested again when Alex Kral was played in down the right channel, before thumping a shot at goal which Pickford parried wide of the post.
There was still time for Vaclik to deny England again too, as he was out quickly to smother the ball at Kane’s feet after a clinical pass into the box from sub Ross Barkley had picked the skipper out.
But the winner came just five minutes from time, when Pickford’s forced clearance was nodded into Masopust’s path from the right. He raced into the box before pulling the ball back into the middle for substitute Zdenek Ondrasek, who made no mistake by slotting a powerful shot past Pickford.
The Three Lions will now head onto Sofia for Monday’s clash with Bulgaria, where they will be looking to get back to winning ways.
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