England locked horns with Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium earlier tonight, hoping to pick up a win on Matchday 3 of the Euro 2020 campaign. Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock around the 12-minute-mark as he rose high to head Jack Grealish’s cross past Tomas Vaclick. The visitors came close to finding the equaliser on a couple of occasions but it turned out to a decent result for the Three Lions as the match ended 1-0.
Let’s take a look at how each England player fared during the clash against Czech Republic.
England Players Rated In Win Vs Czech Republic
Jordan Pickford 7
The Everton shot-stopper was called into action a few times in the first half, but he hardly had anything to do in the second forty-five minutes. However, his ball distribution was mesmerizing.
Kyle Walker 6.5
The Manchester City right-back fared well defensively but there were times when he slowed down the pace of his side’s attacking build-up by holding on to the ball for too long when he could have played an early pass to release Bukayo Saka.
Harry Maguire 8
The Manchester United centre-back kept things in order at the back and he even made a crucial block to keep his side in the lead.
John Stones 8
Stones made some crunching tackles to prevent the opposition frontmen from finding the back of the net. He put up a commanding display alongside Maguire and secured a well-deserved clean sheet.
Luke Shaw 7.5
Unlike Walker, Shaw had an influence on the attacking side of the game as he linked up well with Grealish and Sterling to progress upfield. He even delivered some decent crosses into the box.
Kalvin Phillips 7
The Leeds United midfielder was mostly limited to duties in his own half of the pitch as he shielded the ball effectively at the centre of the park and made important challenges time and again to stop the Czech counterattacks.
Declan Rice 7
Yet again, the West Ham United man displayed a tremendous work rate tonight as he won the ball back for his side on a number of occasions over the course of the game. He kept running up and down the field to intercept the passes and break down the opposition’s play and he wasn’t hesitant about playing forward passes either.
Jack Grealish 8.5
An amazing assist within the first 15 minutes of his first game. Imagine my shock.
The Aston Villa star showed Southgate what his team exactly lacked against Scotland as he took up the role of the creator tonight. He dropped deep, received the passes, and then drove up the pitch with the ball which attracted the opposition players towards him and eventually ended up in either of the two scenarios – a big chance created or a foul won around the 18-yard-box.
Raheem Sterling 8
The Manchester City winger scored the winning goal tonight as he headed the ball past Tomas Vaclik around the 12-minute-mark.
Bukayo Saka 8.5
The youngster from North London was a delight to watch tonight. He made some excellent solo runs down the right flank and created some big chances for his teammates including the one which led to Sterling’s goal.
Harry Kane 7
The Tottenham striker went quite close to getting his first goal of the tournament but was marginally denied by Vaclik’s left hand. He often dropped to link up the play for his team. It was a decent performance overall, but sooner or later, he has to start scoring goals.
SUBSTITUTES (England Players Rated In Win Vs Czech Republic)
Jordan Henderson 6
The Liverpool midfielder controlled the midfield proceedings after coming on.
Marcus Rashford 6
He didn’t offer much in attacking terms.
Jude Bellingham 6.5
Looked full of energy at the centre of the park and even won a couple of fouls.
Tyrone Mings 6
Secured the clean sheet.
Jadon Sancho N/A
It was too late when he came on.
