England 1 Czech Republic 0

Gareth Southgate’s side will have to improve again if they find themselves lining up against one of Europe’s big boys, but after the bitter disappointment of Friday’s no-show against Scotland, last night’s performance at least represented a welcome step forward in terms of offering an attacking threat.

Admittedly, England’s performance dipped markedly in the second half, but before the break, with Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka tearing at the Czech defence, they looked like a side capable of troubling anyone they come up against in the knockout rounds. Southgate’s challenge as he heads into the last 16 is to come up with a way of turning his side’s decent passages of play into a sustained 90-minute performance.

Sterling’s 12th-minute header was England’s sole reward for their attacking play last night, although the goalscorer had already struck the woodwork with a chipped shot when he nodded home Grealish’s cross.

In truth, England rarely looked like adding to their lead, especially in the second half, but the fact they did not look like conceding either was notable. Italy are the only other side in the tournament to have completed the whole of the group phase without conceding a goal, and aside from a decent stop from Scotland’s Stephen O’Donnell, Jordan Pickford has not really had to make a save in England’s opening three matches.

Sustaining that level of defensive reliability will be difficult, but for all the talk of attacking formations, tournaments tend to be won by teams that can defend. On that score at least, England can be satisfied with their work in the group stage.

Southgate can be content with his decision-making yesterday as he made four changes to the team that started against Scotland, and by and large, his alterations worked.

The return of Harry Maguire in place of Tyrone Mings did not disrupt the defensive rhythm England had displayed in their opening two games, while Kyle Walker’s return at right-back helped cut off the supply line to the Czech Republic’s in-form striker, Patrik Schick.

It was further up the field where Southgate’s tinkering really paid dividends though, with Saka and Grealish both making major contributions to England’s win.

Saka would almost certainly not have played had Phil Foden not picked up a yellow card earlier in the competition, but with Southgate keen to ensure one of his key forwards did not pick up a suspension, the Arsenal winger seized his chance to impress on the biggest stage.

Attacking with pace and purpose from the off, Saka helped generate the kind of energy and tempo that had been lacking against Scotland. Even with Foden back in the equation, he has given himself every chance of starting again in the last 16.

Grealish’s opportunity arose as a result of Mason Mount’s Covid-related absence, and having transformed the make-up of England’s central-midfield unit last night, the Aston Villa playmaker might well have cemented his place in the side for the rest of the tournament.

Grealish was excellent last night, setting up England’s opening goal with a deft floated cross, repeatedly forcing the Czech defenders onto the back foot and constantly looking to provide a link between the English midfield and a much more heavily-involved Harry Kane. For too long, it has felt like Southgate has been fixated on what Grealish cannot do. Yesterday, the 25-year-old proved to his manager just why he is tailor-made for international football.

From the very first minute, the tempo of England’s attacking play was completely different to Friday’s game against Scotland. Indeed, they might have claimed the lead after just two minutes, such was the quality and vibrancy of their early attacking play.

Luke Shaw’s threaded through ball sent Sterling galloping into space on the left-hand side of the area, but while the forward’s chipped shot looped over Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, the ball rebounded off the right-hand post before being hacked clear to safety.

It was the second game in a row where England had struck the woodwork in the early stages, but whereas John Stones’ header against Scotland had pretty much proved the sum total of his side’s attacking for the rest of the game, Sterling’s shot against the post last night was not to prove an isolated incident.

Stones headed wide in the tenth minute after Shaw floated a free-kick towards the back post, and while Kane drilled a half-volley well over the crossbar after good approach play from Kalvin Phillips, England only had to wait until the 12th minute before they were able to celebrate claiming the lead.

Kane rolled the ball into Grealish’s path on the left of the area, and after wriggling away from his marker, the Aston Villa midfielder stood up an excellent cross to the back post. Saka was unable to reach it in the middle of the goal, but an unmarked Sterling was perfectly positioned beyond his team-mate and was left with the simple task of nodding home from close range.

It was the Manchester City forward’s second goal of the tournament after he claimed the winner against Croatia, and made it 16 goals in 64 international appearances, hardly a bad return for a player who still seems to divide opinion despite his tendency to deliver in an England shirt.

With Shaw pouring forward down the left and Grealish’s willingness to dart around the final third repeatedly troubling the Czech defence, England created opportunities to extend their lead before the break.

Kane finally recorded his first effort on goal of the tournament as he wriggled inside his marker midway through the opening period, only for Vaclik to make a decent low save down to his left.

The Czech goalkeeper was tested again eight minutes before the interval, but while Shaw thought he had spotted a gap at the near post, Vaclik just about managed to scramble the ball behind.

At the other end, Jordan Pickford was called into action to keep out Tomas Holes’ long-range effort, but with Stones and Maguire doing a good job of shackling the tournament’s joint-leading goalscorer Schick, the Czechs only really caused one scare before the break.

Shaw made an excellent block to deal with a cross from the left, but the ball broke kindly for Tomas Soucek on the edge of the box. The West Ham midfielder swept in a low strike, but the ball whistled wide of the left-hand post.

That was really that in terms of the Czech Republic’s goal threat, although the visitors enjoyed a reasonable amount of second-half possession as England’s intensity dropped. Jordan Henderson saw a late strike ruled out for offside, but England were content to see out the game without any fuss.