England flex muscles against Czechs

England came from behind to record a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic in the opening fixture of their UEFA European Under-17 Championship Group B campaign.

Czech coach Jiří Štol dubbed England as tournament favourites but it was his side who made the first move, Jakub Plšek heading them in front on seven minutes. Ross Barkley equalised midway through the opening period, though, and Joshua McEachran and Benik Afobe struck in the closing 12 minutes to give weight to Štol's pre-tournament assessment of John Peacock's side.

England were the only team to win all six of their qualifiers but, in the shadows of the Rheinpark Stadium's mountainous surroundings, were facing an uphill struggle after only seven minutes. Czech captain Tomáš Česlák's flighted free-kick flummoxed the England defence and Plšek, who had been left totally unattended to, had the simplest of tasks to head in.

England, however, scored 22 times en route to Liechtenstein and took only 14 minutes to find their scoring boots again, Barkley turning in from close range after William Keane's cross had been only partially cleared. Both sides had found their footing in treacherous conditions and both soon struck the bar in quick succession, Martin Hurka with a dipping strike from range and McEachran via a skewed cross from the left.

England's burly striker Connor Wickham was a thorn in Czech sides all night but it was not until the second half he swapped the role of team totem pole for that of individual threat. He first showed brawn to muscle his way into a position to head narrowly wide, before demonstrating his craft in controlling adroitly on his chest and unleashing a shot which was well parried by Vlastimil Veselý.

It was, though, a third trait of the Ipswich Town FC striker's that proved the Czech's undoing. Afobe did the legwork and McEachran provided a delightfully subtle finish, but it was Wickham who was at the hub of a charming move. Victory was rubber-stamped only a minute later, Afobe's deflected shot leaving Veselý, and his side, helpless.