placeholder image
Getty Images
Rating every England player from their comfortable 3-0 win over Czechia - as Harry Kane stars on the night of his 125th cap.
England wrapped up the opening phase of their 2026/27 Nations League campaign with a convincing and comfortable win over Czechia on Tuesday evening, in a match which doubled up as a celebration of the greatness of Harry Kane, who scored twice on the day he equalled Peter Shilton’s long-standing caps record.
Kane’s brace means that England have one foot – and the majority of a second – in the expanded Nations League finals which are due to take place next spring, but the autumn international break has been about more than just results. It’s also been a test of England’s apparent determination to play a more direct, fast-paced brand of football, and one which has provided positive results.
Several players who have been on the fringes since Thomas Tuchel took charge were given a chance to show what they can do in a more aggressive set-up, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Hall, Jarell Quansah and Myles Lewis-Skelly among the main beneficiaries. But did they do enough in the new system to make themselves staples of the England squad going forward? We’ve rated every player out of 10 below.
Lewis Hall impresses again at the back for England
Lewis Hall seized the chance offered by Nico O'Reilly's injury with another fine performanceplaceholder image
Lewis Hall seized the chance offered by Nico O'Reilly's injury with another fine performance | Getty Images
Jordan Pickford – 6/10: There really isn’t much to say about Pickford, who didn’t have a single save to make. Czechia had just five shots on goal, all from outside the area and two of them blocked, and Pickford was a spectator.
Lewis Hall – 8: Although perhaps less lively going forward than he was against the same opposition in Prague, Hall was outstanding in defence, winning every single one-on-one he faced and forcing a hefty eight turnovers – and he provided a perfect deep cross from a corner for Kane to score his second. An excellent all-round performance.
Marc Guéhi – 7: The Manchester City man has been steady since making a rick in the second minute against Spain last week, and enjoyed a largely blemish-free outing at Wembley on Tuesday evening. Solid in possession and domineering in the air, Guéhi gave Tuchel little reason to consider his position going forward.
Jarell Quansah – 7: There were one or two occasions on which Quansah was beaten in one-on-one situations, both in the ground on the air, but made no glaring mistakes and his willingness to both carry the ball out of defence and play accurate long passes made a genuine difference – he looked more at home at centre-back than he did on the right, and provided England with a means by which to get possession downfield with more velocity. A promising performance.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7: Has Alexander-Arnold changed Tuchel’s mind this past week? Maybe. His delivery was dangerous, as always – he created four shooting chances directly from crosses – but perhaps more importantly he did well in defence, forcing eight turnovers. This was not, admittedly, the sternest test of his work at the back, but he passed it nonetheless.
Harry Kane stars on a night that was all about him
Harry Kane is now on 91 international goals, seventh all-time and just one behind Robert Lewandowskiplaceholder image
Harry Kane is now on 91 international goals, seventh all-time and just one behind Robert Lewandowski | Getty Images
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 7: This was probably the Arsenal youngster’s best outing of the international break. Confident and composed on the ball, Lewis-Skelly played a couple of superlative quick balls forward, but perhaps didn’t do enough out of possession to suggest that he was ready to push Declan Rice for his place in the long run.
Elliot Anderson – 7: This wasn’t necessarily Anderson’s most influential performance for England but he kept it tight at the back and played an absolutely sumptuous ball in behind Czechia’s left-back to Morgan Rogers to tee up England’s second goal. He did sky a presentable chance over the bar shortly beforehand, but he isn’t exactly in the team to be a poacher.
Eberechi Eze – 6: Eze is a difficult player to evaluate at times. He was busy and pulled off some beautiful touches, frequently dancing around the Czech defenders with impressive grace and ease. None of it, however, ultimately led anywhere – his three shots on goal were all blocked and he didn’t directly create a single shooting chance. Eze is so often pleasing on the eye, but not always as productive as England need him to be.
Jude Bellingham – 6: Bellingham had a fairly quiet evening by his standards and took something of a back seat to Kane on the striker’s big night, but there were still touches of genuine class, such as the deft backheeled shot which so nearly wrong-footed Lukáš Horníček. Even on his quieter nights, Bellingham oozes confidence and quality.
Morgan Rogers – 8: When he was auditioning for Bellingham’s role at number 10, Rogers failed to convincing make his case for starts – but on his occasional caps on the right wing, it’s been a different story. His cross for Kane’s first goal was simply sublime and was one of just four chances he teed up as he tormented the left side of the Czech defence. This was one of Rogers’ best displays in an England shirt. Bellingham might not need to worry, but maybe Bukayo Saka does.
Harry Kane – 10: What other score could you give one of England’s all-time greats on the evening of his 125th cap? Kane scored two superb striker’s goals, timing his run perfectly for the first and comprehensively outmuscling his marker for the second, linked up play beautifully all night, and if we’re being generous – and why not? – we can say that his cross forced Vladimír Coufal’s rather embarrassing own goal as well. Kane did everything asked of him and more, as he so often does.
Quite night for England’s subs as Gibbs-White and Calvert-Lewin get their chances
England's substitutes came into a game which had lost all momentumplaceholder image
England's substitutes came into a game which had lost all momentum | Getty Images
Jarrad Branthwaite (on for Guéhi 63’) - 6: The Everton defender looked cosy in possession but had precious little to do other than knock the ball about - by the time Branthwaite came on, Czechia were bruised, beaten, and has basically given up. His defensive mettle went almost entirely untested.
James Garner (for Anderson 63’) - 6: One suspects that Garner will get lost in the mass of high-quality defensive midfielder that England have available, and he didn’t really get the opportunity to change the narrative here. Garner did everything right off the ball and let nothing past him, but wasn’t put under much pressure and perhaps lacks some of Rice, Anderson and Lewis-Skelly’s technical élan.
Morgan Gibbs-White (for Hall 72’) - 5: Another player who faces an uphill battle to beat out some very stern competition for places, and who didn’t really deliver in a brief cameo. Gibbs-White simply wasn’t able to get on the ball and get involved, and left the field without having made a dent in a game which petered towards an inevitable conclusion over the last half-hour.
Rio Ngumoha (for Bellingham 72’) - 6: Ngumoha, likewise, didn’t really find himself given a chance to show off his skillset, although he did find time to glide past a couple of Czech defenders with the burst of pace that might terrify international defenders down the line. Flashes were all he had time for, however.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (for Kane 82’) - N/A: If Garner and Gibbs-White face thankless tasks trying to force their way into the side, pity the striker who backs up Kane. Calvert-Lewin got less than 10 minutes of action, time for just seven touches of the ball, no shots, and no moments in which to demonstrate anything of note.