England lose to Czech Republic in Euro 2020 qualifier.

England lose to Czech Republic in Euro 2020 qualifier.

It was all going so well. There we were thinking that this would be the proverbial piece of cake when who should steal the marzipan than the Czech Republic. Of all the teams in England's admittedly poor Euro 2020 qualifying group who some of us may have felt would cause England's problems, the Czech Republic did it once again. England haven't beaten the Czech Republic in their own backyard for well over 100 years now and that is the kind of damning statistic that very few of us can possibly believe. But it's true and not for the first time in England's chequered history convincing victories were followed by miserable anti climaxes.

Last night in the breathtakingly historic city of Prague, the white shirted men of England were beaten for the first time in any Euro or World Cup qualifier and that in itself may have provided us with some comfort in our hour of sadness. The truth is that you can't win all the time and eventually defeat arrives when least expected. England though were just not themselves and the reality is that this England team are far from the finished article.

In that crazy 5-3 win against Kosovo at St Mary's, England reminded you of the kid at the fairground  who suddenly finds themselves in front of the mirror, a perfectly ordinary image at first but then distorted the next. England blasted Kosovo with all the heavy artillery that you might have come to expect after a five goal sledgehammer had cracked open the heart of the Kosovo defence before half time. England then lapsed into some unaccountable trance in the second half and were lucky to finish the game with a 5-3 victory.

When England are not at their best and the moon is in the wrong position they look shabby, in need of a good wash and just lose their way. For much of the first half of this Euro 2020 qualifier England looked punch drunk, awkward and misshapen. They looked, for all the world, disjointed, completely run down and somehow wishing that all of these preliminary skirmishes before big international tournaments could be scrapped once and for all. It seemed as if Gareth Southgate's men had just peaked and there was nowhere else for them to go.

After all the kind words and bouquets of praise had been showered on England's young and resurgent men in the wake of their World Cup heroics last year, England are now back in the real world. They gave a creditable account of themselves in the still baffling UEFA Nations League but when it came to the more familiar European Championship qualifiers England re-joined the other European party slightly the worse for wear.

Still, England did overwhelm the Czech Republic at home with a sound 5-0 victory and perhaps you felt that there was something good in the air once again. Bulgaria were comfortably dismissed and the  feelgood euphoria that had been genuinely felt in Russia might have trickled over into the present day England squad. England were rocking and rolling, scoring goals from all angles and boasting a young, fresh and vibrant team, full of beans and ready to embrace a new era.

And yet for 90 minutes yesterday evening in Prague, the notes were in the wrong order, the keys were discordant and all of that bristling enthusiasm of their more recent encounters had now fallen by the wayside. Suddenly, England look one paced, untidy, dishevelled, wandering around Central Europe rather like those tourists who keep asking for directions with a map in their hands. They were plodding, leaden footed, pedestrian and no longer sure of which way to go. Or so it seemed.

But England opened proceedings against the Czech Republic like a theatrical troupe of Shakespearean actors on first night, full of confident pronouncements, clear vocal projections and determined to finish off their opponents in no time at all. There was a clarity and eloquence about England's football that boded so well for the rest of the game. Everything seemed to be clicking from kick off and that fluid attacking co-ordination brought them their first goal after five minutes.

When the marvellously effervescent Raheem Sterling set off on one of those mazy and irresistible runs towards the Czechs penalty area, we sensed that all was well. Sterling ran directly at the backpedalling Czech defence and we somehow knew that the only way the home side were going to catch him would result in a penalty. Sterling darted forward strongly, rolling his body purposefully, checked back inside his hapless defender and then was dragged to the ground. Harry Kane struck his penalty with arrogant ease. England were one up and the world seemed to be their oyster.

Regrettably England proceeded to get bogged down in a sticky quagmire of their own making. The crisp passing game that had come to characterise their game in both Russia and more recently in their opening Euro qualiifiers had temporarily deserted them. It was almost as if somebody had taken their well rehearsed script and accidentally dropped it in the bin. There was nothing of  the vim, vitality and assurance of their World Cup adventure, a side whose lights had been turned off and none could find  the requisite battery or that surge of electricity that had to be there on the night.

In the centre of England's defence Harry Maguire kept looking around him all the time and for a while looked like a lost soul, frantically covering and then panicking in case a  Czech would home down on him in yet another attack. Maguire has come a long way since his days at Leicester and after a brief settling in period at Manchester United, Maguire did look as if he'd made that central defensive role his own.

His presence at free kicks and corners in Russia last year was both encouraging and heartening but against the Czech Republic Maguire seemed to be pre-occupied by something and perhaps worried by his club's alarming predicament at the moment. United are struggling for any kind of form and here it showed. Maguire gave the impression that this wasn't his kind of game and his problems got worse rather than better.

Both Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier and Declan Rice all looked ring rusty, slovenly and clumsily apprehensive at times. Rose seemed to lunge into tackles that shouldn't have been necessary while Rice, although steady and unfussy, reminded you of Bambi gingerly climbing to its feet and then collapsing. Kieran Trippier looked as if he needed permission to move forward on the overlap which he did so successfully in Russia. Here Trippier was hesitant, reluctant to commit himself when it counted and not entirely sure what to do with the ball.  Maybe somebody should have given him a note of consent

For Michael Keane defensive duties were more of a burden and Keane was frequently caught out by pace on the break and out of position when he should have been more attentive. In midfield the normally reliable Liverpool playmaker Jordan Henderson had all of his wires crossed, shuffling his feet, digging out simple passes to nobody in particular and then finding that all he could see in front of him were the red shirts of the Czech Republic. It was indeed totally out of character.

For the young Chelsea debutant Mason Mount this must have been the debut from hell. Mount did provide England with some of their most refined touches and was actively involved in some of England's better moments. There was a nimbleness and delicacy about the new Chelsea attacker that did appear to be promising. But when Mount faded from the game England had no obvious outlet or attacking alternative.

Jadon Sancho, although a definite inclusion in future England teams, was not the ball of energy and the livewire nuisance that Gareth Southgate might have assumed he would be on the night. Sancho has made a very forceful impact when picked by Southgate and there is something of the explosive goal scorer about him that will always be considered for the start of an England team.

On the night though both Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling were never tuned into the same wavelength as each other and there were times when they were waiting for a bus that was never likely to turn up at all. Kane is in a Spurs side that will certainly be in contention for another Champions League place but is now treading water and Sterling is in a Manchester City team who must be feeling that they were rudely offended by Wolves last weekend. City were beaten by an in form Wolves at the Etihad Stadium and a brief shock to City's system left Sterling glowering and snarling. England were though teetering precariously and then it happened.

A high and well driven corner was floated over the entire England's defence who froze unthinkably. Jakus Brasbec was on hand to sweep the ball sweetly into the net for the Czech's equalising goal. A cold and shuddering shiver went straight through the England defence. The home side now found their range and focus, sewing their passes togehter tenderly and slipping through the gears with a smart fluency.

With five minutes to go and England still in recovery mode after a dreadful first half for them, the Czechs struck back and deservedly scored the winning goal. A breathless break down England's wing culminated in a low, sensibly cut back ball to Zdenek Ondrasec who gleefully steered the ball past England keeper Jordan Pickford. Game over. England lose their first international for ages. Fear not though. It could just be a blip. Besides, the Gareth Southgate waistcoat was conspicuous by its absence, a lucky omen perhaps.  Keep calm everybody.