Nations League Night Two: England 2-0 Czechia, Spain 4-1 Croatia

Two away ends, two answers. England answered Wembley’s 2-3 with a controlled 2-0 in Prague. Half-time goalless, second-half professional, first points on the board. Spain answered their own perfect start with a record-setting 4-1 over Croatia in Seville: two goals from Lamine Yamal, one each from Marc Pubill and Nico Williams. And the first 40-match unbeaten run in international football history. Matchday two of Group A3 is done. This is the full night-two report: both games, the new table. And what October demands of the travellers.

From the press box — Elena Marsh: Scores via ESPN (Czechia 0-2 England FT), Goal.com (Spain 4-1 match report), Tribuna (goal chronology), englandfootball.com match centre, Bytes Europe. Reported results only — never invented, no odds, no tips.

Prague: Czechia 0-2 England — patience pays

Fortuna Arena, Prague — half-time 0-0, full-time 0-2: Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane on the scoresheet. England’s first away night of the autumn followed the AOL script from the eve of the game: Trafford’s audition in goal, Alexander-Arnold restored at right-back, Branthwaite beside Guehi, Hall at left-back, Anderson and Scott in midfield, Saka, Bellingham and Gordon behind Kane. What mattered was temperament, not selection. Czechia under Santi Denia — the first non-Czech manager in the national team’s history. Held the shape for an hour; the second half belonged to the visitors. Gordon struck, Kane added the second. And the away end that had travelled with nothing to show from Wembley went home with three points.

The shape of the campaign changed overnight. England lost the first game 2-3 at home to Spain and beat the second 2-0 away in Prague. Classic away-day arithmetic. Gordon now has goals in consecutive internationals (36’ against Spain from the spot-side run, then Prague’s opener), Kane scored again and missed a penalty in the same week. And the midfield pairing that survived Wembley’s chaos looked settled in Prague. Denia’s Czechs, beaten 1-2 by Croatia on Saturday and 0-2 at home on Tuesday, sit last with two defeats and the group slipping.

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Seville: Spain 4-1 Croatia — the forty club

Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Seville — half-time 2-1, full-time 4-1. Two minutes in, Yamal fired Spain ahead with a left-footed strike. A repeat of the 2’ opener habit from Wembley six days earlier. Croatia, who had won 2-1 in Prague on Saturday through Modrić and Pašalić, refused to fold: Dion Beljo levelled on 28’. Three minutes later Pubill restored the lead with a close-range header from a Yamal assist. The Barcelona winger struck again on 63’ from a difficult angle after Pedri’s pass. And Williams curled the fourth late. De la Fuente’s substitutions kept the rhythm up. Modrić, still conducting at 39, could only watch a younger midfield take the night.

The maths matters as much as the magic. Six points from two, top of the group, maximums. And forty internationals unbeaten, the first national side in history to reach the number. The European and world champions now own the longest streak the international game has ever seen. And they extended it at a ground where the evening heat had gone and 42,000-plus made the noise. Croatia’s first defeat of the autumn leaves them third. The Saturday heroes in Prague became Tuesday’s lesson in Seville.

The new Group A3 table

Spain 6 — played 2, won 2 (3-2 at Wembley, 4-1 at home). England 3 — played 2 (2-3 home, 2-0 away). Croatia 3 — played 2 (2-1 away, 1-4 away). Czechia 0 — played 2 (1-2 home, 0-2 home). England sit second ahead of Croatia on goal difference (+1 against −2). The pattern of the autumn is set: score first and you usually win. The two home defeats on Saturday (England’s, Czechia’s) both got answered by results on Tuesday (England’s away win, Spain’s demolition). Czechia, pointless and with Rijeka and Wembley still to come in reverse fixtures, now need something from October to stay alive.

October: Rijeka then Wembley

Saturday Oct 3: Croatia vs England in Rijeka. The return of the Saturday storyline. England go back to Croatia nine days after Croatia came to Prague, with third hosting second and the away end expecting a night of noise on the Adriatic. Win, and England open a three-point gap over Croatia with the head-to-head safety net. Lose, and October’s home game becomes a must-win. Tuesday Oct 6: England vs Czechia at Wembley. The group’s bottom side visit the ground where England just lost to Spain. An evening for control, for Kane’s record chase. And for the home crowd’s patience to be rewarded. November then brings the returns: England–Croatia at Wembley and Spain–England in Spain. Book October around these two dates; the group will look very different after them.

Travellers’ notes: Prague to Rijeka to Wembley

Prague handled the night well — Fortuna Arena sits in Vršovice, walkable from the centre. And the away end’s trains back into Staré Město ran with the usual police escort and no reported trouble. Rijeka on Saturday is the next logistics test: a coastal ground, a smaller away allocation. And flights from London into Zagreb or Ljubljana plus the coast road down. Wembley on Tuesday Oct 6 is the easy one — tube, pubs, home end. If you’re doing all three cities in ten days, ride the Prague–Vienna–Zagreb rail corridor rather than flying. And keep Wembley night free of morning meetings. The football deserves the travel; the travel deserves planning.

Verdict: Spain perfect, England back in it

Two games, two statements. Spain are six from six with a world-first unbeaten run. The team to catch, the standard to reach. England are back in it with an away win built on shape and set-piece nerve. Second, three points, October in their hands. Croatia learned the gap between Saturday’s Prague and Tuesday’s Seville. Czechia learned the cost of two home games and zero points. See you in Rijeka.