Depleted Czechs face England side that cannot keep a clean sheet
The Czech Republic host England at the Fortuna Arena in Prague on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, on matchday two of UEFA Nations League A, Group 3, with kick-off at 20:45 CEST and a sold-out crowd expected. Both teams lost their openers: Santi Denia’s Czechs went down 1-2 at home to Croatia in only his first game as manager, while England were beaten 3-2 by Spain at Wembley in a match Tuchel felt they should have won. Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler is in charge, with Fedayi San on VAR.
„It’s a bit early in the group for a must-win“ – Thomas Tuchel, but he also admitted that seven goals conceded in two games „is very unusual“.
Predicted lineups: Czechia vs England
Denia would not name a goalkeeper on Monday – „máme tři skvělé top brankáře“ – and said any changes would be decided after training and a meeting with the medical staff, so the Czech side below is a projection. Horníček started against Croatia and is kept here; Kinský and Kovář are the alternatives. Coufal missed the open session on Monday and Czech reports on Tuesday morning say he is not on the UEFA match list, with Michal Sáček of Górnik Zabrze the likely replacement at right-back. Krejčí has trained and is on the list, but Denia wants only players who are „stoprocentně fit“, so Hranáč and Chaloupek are the safer pairing. For England, Tuchel said on Monday he would ideally pick the same eleven but had to speak to the doctors about Konsa and O’Reilly; Trafford keeps his place in goal and Alexander-Arnold has been confirmed at right-back. Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo and Livramento are not in the squad.
Czech Republic Team News & Preview
Santi Denia’s reign started with a defeat that had been 19 games in the making. Czechia had not lost at home since September 2022, but Croatia won 1-2 at Eden in front of only 15,421 people: Luka Modrić punished a loose back-pass involving Karabec and Červ straight after half-time, Karabec made amends from a Hložek assist on 54 minutes, and Pašalić’s winner went through Horníček’s legs on 77 minutes after Radosta had an equaliser ruled out for a Hložek offside. The first half produced no Czech shot on goal at all. Denia’s stated idea is „méně nákopů, víc fotbalu“ – fewer long balls, more football – and the debutants Sláma and Ambros were praised, but the Czech press was clear about the other side of it: both goals came from errors in their own half. Tuchel, for his part, sees Spanish patterns in this team – a flexible midfield three with plenty of positional rotation.
The squad list has thinned dramatically. Patrik Schick has retired from international football, David Zima, Jurásek, Ryneš, Vlček, Provod, Višinský and Chorý all withdrew before the camp, and Souček is still recovering and only met the staff this week. The new problems are more painful: Coufal, whose right flank with Hložek was the main creative outlet against Croatia, missed Monday’s training and is reported to be off the match list, while Krejčí has had a calf overload since arriving on 21 September and Denia refuses to risk anyone who is not fully fit. Karabec’s exit against Croatia adds another doubt. This is the fourth game in eleven days for the Czechs, and Denia has openly talked about fresh legs. Czechia are unbeaten in all four home games against England, including a 2-1 in Prague in October 2019, but that team had Souček, Schick and Coufal at their peak; this one is being rebuilt on the move under a manager in his second match.
What works for or against Czechia
- Souček is out, Coufal is reported off the match list, and Krejčí and Karabec are doubts – four regular starters in question for Denia's second game.
- Both Croatia goals came from Czech errors in their own build-up – exactly the kind of mistake England's front four punish.
- Unbeaten in all four home games against England, and Hložek set up Karabec's goal against Croatia and was singled out for praise in the Czech ratings.
- Denia refused to name his goalkeeper: Horníček, Kinský and Kovář are all in contention.
England Team News & Preview
England’s defeat to Spain was a strange one to lose. Lamine Yamal scored after two minutes, Anthony Gordon and a Harry Kane header turned it around before half-time, and then Kane slipped and hit the bar from a VAR-awarded penalty on 54 minutes before Baena and Oyarzabal won it for the visitors. Tuchel’s verdict – „we had them, we had our chance to beat them“ – is fair on the chances, but the defensive picture is the worry: six games without a clean sheet, 13 goals conceded, and the manager’s own diagnosis of „individual mistakes during deep build-up“. James Trafford, who kept his place after that game, is described as the only confirmed starter, and Tuchel has confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
The fitness question is at centre-back and in midfield. Konsa and O’Reilly both started against Spain and both missed Monday’s final session on individual programmes; Tuchel called the problems minor but real, and Lewis Hall was reported to have been rested after a small training issue. That is why Branthwaite is favoured alongside Guéhi and why the double pivot is open between Lewis-Skelly, Anderson and Scott. Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo and Livramento are all absent from the squad, with Morgan Gibbs-White drafted in. Tuchel has been clear about his preference not to rotate much, and England’s attacking unit of Saka, Bellingham, Gordon and Kane scored twice against a Spain side on a 39-game unbeaten run on Saturday; against a Czech side that has just lost its right-back, its captain is doubtful and its keeper is undecided, I expect them to score again, probably more than once.
What works for or against England
- Saka, Bellingham, Gordon and Kane produced two goals and a penalty against Spain, and face a Czech defence missing Coufal and possibly Krejčí.
- No clean sheet in six games and 13 goals conceded – Tuchel blames individual errors in deep build-up.
- Konsa and O'Reilly trained separately on Monday and are doubts, so the back line may change again.
- Tuchel confirmed Trafford and Alexander-Arnold and wants minimal rotation – the core of the side that dominated long spells against Spain stays together.
Czechia vs England Odds
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Czech Republic Form, Stats & Data
A squad valued at just under €177m is respectable for League A, but the value is concentrated in players who may not start: Krejčí, the most expensive and the captain, is a doubt, Souček is out and Coufal is reported off the list. What remains is a young side that showed, in the second half against Croatia, that it can play the way Denia wants – Karabec’s goal came from a Hložek assist down the right and Radosta had an equaliser ruled out – but that gave away both goals with the ball at its feet. Against England’s front four, that is a serious risk. Hložek’s form is the main reason I expect Czechia to score at some stage; the defence is the reason I do not expect them to get anything from the game.
England Form, Stats & Data
England’s squad is worth eight times the Czech one even without Rice, Palmer and Rashford, and Bellingham alone is valued at close to the entire Czech squad. That gap showed for long spells against Spain, when England created enough to win, and it is the attacking numbers rather than the result that I lean on: two goals plus a missed penalty against the side on a 39-game unbeaten run. The defensive record is the qualifier. Six games without a clean sheet is not a fluke when the manager himself identifies build-up errors as the cause, and with Konsa and O’Reilly doubtful the back line will be reshuffled again. That is why I prefer a straight England win to a clean-sheet or handicap play as the main bet, and why both teams scoring is a live alternative.
Czechia vs England: Prediction & Betting Tip
The decisive factor for me is the state of the two squads rather than the two results. England lost to Spain having played well; Czechia lost to Croatia having handed over two goals, and have since lost Coufal, may lose Krejčí, and are picking a goalkeeper by feel in a fourth game in eleven days under a manager in his second match. Tuchel’s side has its full attacking unit fit, wants no rotation, and will be facing a defence that gave away two goals with the ball at its feet on Saturday. A Czech goal is possible – Hložek and the right side created plenty in the second half on Saturday – but I expect England to score more.
The strongest argument against is England’s defence. Thirteen goals in six games, another possible change at centre-back and a Czech home record of four unbeaten games against England mean that a nervous evening in Prague is very possible, and the 2019 defeat here is the obvious reminder. That is why I am not going bigger than the straight win and why I would not touch a win-to-nil.
My main bet is **England to win at 1.34 with MyStake**. My correct-score pick is 1-3.