England bounced back from defeat to Spain with three straight wins, giving Thomas Tuchel plenty to build on as the Nations League heads toward a decisive November window.
Harry Kane scored twice on the night he became England's joint-record appearance maker as Thomas Tuchel's side eased to a 3-0 win over Czechia at Wembley Stadium. Kane made history by tying goalkeeper Peter Shilton on 125 caps. After Vladimír Coufal's comical 27th-minute own goal broke the deadlock, the 33-year-old netted a record-extending 90th and 91st international goal either side of halftime. It brings an end to the first four-game international window as England recovered from an opening defeat to world champions Spain to beat Czechia twice and win 7-0 against Croatia in Rijeka. England sit second in UEFA Nations League A Group 3, in a strong position to reach the quarterfinal next March.
Tuchel silences murmurs of discontent. This camp threatened to begin under a cloud after England's second-half collapse against Argentina at the World Cup. Throw in the withdrawals of Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice, and the loss to Spain brought doubts. But England have steadied the ship since then, inflicting Croatia's heaviest defeat in their history. Further issues threatened to blow them off course with the Independent Commission's guilty verdict in the Manchester City case leaking before England's opening game. Marc Guéhi, Nico O'Reilly and Elliot Anderson made mistakes, and Tuchel admitted the City case was a "big topic" in camp. The old club against country row reared up when Alex Scott was sidelined with a thigh injury. Tuchel insisted England took "zero risk" with Scott. Tuchel has gone a long way to reestablishing his authority.
Record-equaling Kane takes the lead in the four matches. Tuesday was Kane's night. He became England's joint all-time appearance maker and marked the occasion with two goals. He became just the seventh man in history to score 90 times at international level. Kane is 33 but in the form of his life and the clear leader of this team.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing