England 5-0 Czech Republic: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier match, 3 takeaways
England thrashed Czech Republic 5-0 in a one-sided Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley last night. Raheem Sterling scored his first hattrick in an England shirt, and Harry Kane converted from the penalty spot. Czech defender, Kalas, scored an own goal to complete his side’s misery.
It was a domineering display from the English, as they continued their impressive run under Gareth Southgate’s tutelage. However, it has to be kept in mind that the Czech Republic has fallen from grace in the past decade or so, and have a pretty ordinary side these days.
They no longer produce players like Jan Koller, Karel Poborsky, and Pavel Nedved, and made things much easier for the home team with their insipid performance last night. They could have only a couple of shots at goal in the match. We would now take a look at 3 takeaways from the match.
#1 Sterling proved his class yet again
Sterling has improved immensely as a footballer in the last 2-3 seasons, and it was evident from last night’s delightful performance. He has already scored a lot of goals for Manchester City this season and was again superb for England yesterday.
He was involved in 4 goals scored by England, as he scored 3 and earned a penalty for them. He started on the left wing last night and kept making frequent inroads into the opposition penalty box. He scored his first goal with a sliding tap-in, as Sancho played a cross to the penalty box from the right flank.
Sterling scored two more goals in the second half. One of those goals came off a deflection from a Czech player, who was trying to block the former’s goal-bound shot. He also earned a penalty for England in the first half, as a Czech defender fouled him inside the penalty box.
Sterling is quite possibly the greatest English footballer at the moment, and also one of the finest attacking players in the world. His dribbling and finishing skills have improved considerably, and he has the ability to trouble any defence in the world. He now has 7 goals in 48 international appearances for the English national team.