England vs Czechia: Harry Kane against a Czech defence without Ladislav Krejčí
UEFA Nations League · League A, Group C · Matchday 4
England
20:45
Czechia
- Kick-off
- Tue 6 Oct · 20:45 CEST · 19:45 UK
- Venue
- Wembley Stadium, London
Our call
England win
Our score: England 3–0 Czechia
Czechia come without Ladislav Krejčí and Patrik Schick, and England have scored 27 goals in their last ten games.
Medium confidence: we'd expect England to win about half the time. Logged 5 Oct, 09:30 CEST and never edited. See Updates.
In 30 seconds
- Czechia are bottom with no points, and Ladislav Krejčí, their scoring centre-back, is suspended after his red card in Oviedo on Sat 3 Oct.
- Harry Kane scored twice in the 7–0 in Rijeka and has 8 goals in England's last ten games.
- England should win this by three, and Kane will be among the scorers.
The story
Thomas Tuchel's England arrive at Wembley straight from a 7–0 win. They beat Croatia in Rijeka on Sat 3 Oct, the heaviest defeat Croatia have ever suffered, with Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scoring twice each and Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers adding the rest. Kane now has 8 of England's goals in their last ten games, and Bellingham 7.
Santi Denia took over Czechia in the summer and is still waiting for his first point. His side lost 2–1 at home to Croatia, 2–0 at home to England on Tue 29 Sep and 3–1 to Spain in Oviedo, where Jiří Sláma scored their goal and Ladislav Krejčí was sent off late on. That costs Denia more than a centre-back: Krejčí has 3 of Czechia's goals in their last ten games, and Patrik Schick, who has 2, retired from international football after the World Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
| 2England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
| 3Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -9 | 3 |
| 4Czechia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 0 |
Croatia play Spain in Split on the same evening. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
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An England win takes them to 9 points and keeps the pressure on Spain at the top. Czechia need something from this game just to stay in touch with Croatia above them.
The game turns on the Czech back line. Without Krejčí, Denia has to rebuild the middle of a defence that has conceded in each of its last ten games, against a striker who barely needs a second chance. In Prague on Tue 29 Sep Czechia kept England to two. With a reshaped defence and two of their scorers missing, we doubt they can keep it that close at Wembley.
Form
England
- Latest · 3 OctW7–0at CRONL
- 29 SepW2–0at CZENL
- 26 SepL2–3v ESPNL
- 18 JulW6–4v FRAWC
- 15 JulL1–2v ARGWC semi
Two clean sheets since the home defeat by Spain. The World Cup ended in third place, after the 6–4 against France.
Czechia
- Latest · 3 OctL1–3at ESPNL
- 29 SepL0–2v ENGNL
- 26 SepL1–2v CRONL
- 25 JunL0–3v MEXWC
- 18 JunD1–1v RSAWC
Four defeats in a row, three of them under Denia.
Latest on the left. WC games were at neutral grounds; NL = Nations League. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Team news
England
- OutDeclan Rice: withdrew injured before the squad met, with Cole Palmer, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento. England have managed without them in both wins.(reported)
- OutNico O'Reilly: withdrew injured on Thu 1 Oct. Lewis Hall started at left-back in Rijeka.(reported)
Czechia
- OutLadislav Krejčí: suspended after his sending-off against Spain on 3 Oct. Denia loses a starting centre-back who has also been scoring.(reported)
- OutPatrik Schick: retired from international football after the World Cup. Adam Hložek led the line in Oviedo.(reported)
Line-ups: confirmed about an hour before kick-off. They'll go under Updates. We don't publish guessed XIs.
Checked Sun 4 Oct 17:15 CEST: the FA via Yahoo Sport and beIN for England; AP and Al Jazeera for Czechia. Reported = one outlet, not yet confirmed by the federation.
Nothing has been reported against Kane or Bellingham. James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White were called up to cover the midfield absences, and Rogers, who scored in Rijeka, is the other option behind Kane.
Czechia 4-2-3-1 · v Spain, 3 Oct
- Kinský
- SáčekChaloupek (key battle)KrejčíSláma
- KrálMacek
- RadostaAmbrosLingr
- Hložek
- Kane (key battle)
- GordonBellinghamSaka
- ScottAnderson
- HallGuéhiKonsaQuansah
- Pickford
England 4-2-3-1 · v Croatia, 3 Oct
Who to watch
The duel to watch: Harry Kane against Štěpán Chaloupek. With Krejčí out, Chaloupek is the centre-back left from the Oviedo pairing, and he will spend the evening deciding whether to follow Kane when he drops deep or hold his line and leave Bellingham the space behind.
England
Jude Bellingham
Played behind Kane in Rijeka and scored there. Only Kane has more in this England side.
- 7
- goals, England's last 10
Czechia
Jiří Sláma
The left-back scored Czechia's goal in Oviedo, and he faces Bukayo Saka down that flank.
- 1
- goals, Czechia's last 10
Goals in each side's last ten games, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Head-to-head
England have won three of the four meetings we hold, the latest 2–0 in Prague on Tue 29 Sep.
Result for England
- 29 Sep 2026Czechia v EnglandNations League, Prague0–2W
- 22 Jun 2021Czechia v EnglandEuro, London0–1W
- 11 Oct 2019Czechia v EnglandEuro qualifier, Prague2–1L
- 22 Mar 2019England v CzechiaEuro qualifier, London5–0W
Every meeting we hold (4, back to 2019). OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Numbers that matter
Goals scored: England 27.0, Czechia 12.0 (higher is better)
More than twice as many, and 5 of Czechia's came from two players who are not here.
Goals conceded · fewer is better: England 13.0, Czechia 18.0 (lower is better)
Nine of England's came in their last four World Cup games.
Clean sheets: England 4.0, Czechia 0.0 (higher is better)
Czechia have not kept one in ten games.
Last ten games each, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 4 Oct 2026.
Our call, explained
We have England winning 3–0. Czechia held England to two in Prague, but that was with Krejčí at the back, and they have scored once since then, in Oviedo. England have scored in nine of their last ten games and have more than one reliable scorer: Kane, Bellingham and Saka have 20 between them in that run. Against a reshaped defence, at home, we expect them to pull away after half-time.
Where this could go wrong. Czechia have scored in eight of their last ten games, so a clean sheet is far from certain, and Tuchel may rotate for a fourth game in 11 days. If Czechia sit deep and Kane is quiet, England could need a long time to break them. If England do drop points, we'd expect a draw rather than a Czech win.
Updates
Nothing has changed since we published. Next: news from either camp, the starting XIs about an hour before kick-off, then the final score.
Data note: results, scorers and line-ups from our database (API-Football), read 4 Oct 08:40 UTC; team news and match details from the FA, Yahoo Sport, beIN, AP, Al Jazeera and Sky Sports.