England vs Czech Republic: Talking points ahead of friendly in Brighton
England host the Czech Republic at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday as they look to build on their impressive 2-1 victory over the United States on Friday.
It was the first time England had won against the world champions since 2017 and extended their unbeaten run under manager Sarina Wiegman to 23 games – including 21 victories.
Here we take a look at some of the talking points ahead of the Czech Republic clash.
Will the manager rotate the squad?
Wiegman is usually unwilling to make changes to her preferred line-up, having stuck with the same starting XI for all of the Women’s Euros.
However, Alessia Russo and captain Leah Williamson have both picked up injuries and are out of the squad, forcing the manager to make alterations. It will be a good test for some of the squad players to show their worth having had limited opportunities previously.
Can England maintain their momentum?
A sold-out Wembley (the match was sold-out but the crowd was only 76,893 on the night) to host the world champions is one matter, a Tuesday night in Brighton against a team ranked 28th in the world is another.
It will be interesting to see how much the fans and the players are motivated for the friendly, as they look to build on their impressive record under Wiegman.
Lucy Bronze to join the 100 club
Bronze is on the brink of her 100th England cap and could bring up the milestone on Tuesday when the European champions return to the south coast.
Bronze made her England debut back in 2013 and has since racked up 99 appearances, scoring 11 goals.
The right-back has often been a trailblazer, joining Lyon back in 2017 and winning three Champions Leagues with the French club, and signed for Barcelona in June.
A return to Brighton
Brighton was one of the hosts in Euro 2022, and England played their first knockout match there against Spain.
The game went to extra-time, with Georgia Stanway scoring the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory.
That quarter-final success was when the momentum really started to gather for the hosts following a straightforward group stage.
