England played their final friendly of October on Tuesday evening as they took on the Czech Republic in Brighton. This game was a chance for Wiegman to rotate her team a bit and see what worked and what didn't. we saw Stanway added to the out injured list and saw Mead and Daly starting from the bench. England were looking to continue their unbeaten run in a game which saw Lucy Bronze gain her 100th cap for her country however, the unbeaten run continues in a way that England probably won't be happy with as they were held to a 0-0 draw. 

The Czech Republic showed England in the first few minutes that they weren't there to be sat back and bullied, they were going to bring a game to England and put up a fight themselves. They even had the first chance of the evening with a shot that found its way over the bar and out for a corner. England's first chance came from Lauren James on her first senior start for her country, she let off a brilliant strike which came very close to going into the back of the net, instead though it rattled against the post and was cleared from the danger zone by the Czech defence. The Czech team certainly held their own especially in the first 10 minutes when they defended well and made a few breaks for themselves. As for England though the seemed to be getting in each others way too many times and this led to them losing the ball rather than continuing a promising attack, which is something we definitely aren't used to seeing from this current England side. When England did manage to string some passes together though they looked fantastic and unstoppable but unfortunately this didn't seem to happen as much as us fans would have liked it to. They definitely dominated the first half possession though there was just no end product throughout the first half, Hemp is still trying to learn her new role and there never seemed to be back up to get the most challenging shots, it was a far cry from the performance we saw in the first half against the USA on Friday. 

The teams went into half time with the score line at 0-0, there wasn't too much from either side but the Czech Republic definitely showed us they weren't here to mess around, they wanted to push and cause an upset. Half time saw Wiegman make some changes with Mead and Toone entering the pitch and it is safe to say England started much livelier than they did the first half with some great balls into the box which no one could convert into a goal. The best effort came from a brilliant ball in from Mead which found the head of Hemp but even that found its way over the crossbar. The second half also saw Esme Morgan finally get her first England cap and also Ebony Salmon receive her second, these are 2 players with a lot of potential so to see them getting a chance is great, I think they will be names we see a lot of in the future. England were doing everything right and had plenty of chances however, they just couldn't get the ball across the line and the game ended 0-0, credit to the Czech Republic though they really brought England a challenge that I don't think many of us expected. 

The Mead and Bronze link up looked really strong at time and I think this could be very beneficial for the World Cup if both players stay fit and get called up for the competition. England certainly used this game to experiment with their players and it created an interesting game which just looked like it was lacking something at times, it was a far cry from Friday's victory over the USA. The loss of Williamson and Russo was definitely noticed in this game as the defence was shaky and not as in control as we have seen when Williamson has been commanding the backline and I do believe Russo would have helped massively attacking wise as her positioning and awareness is fantastic, she would have really suited this game. I think I am enjoying Hemp in her new role and if she settles into it quickly I think this could really benefit both England & Man City, although we did lack that pace and threat on the left with her upfront. I think James settled into the game well too, she looks a bit shaky at first but with it being her first start I guess that could have been expected, as the game progressed she definitely settled in well and I think she is another player we will be seeing much more of in the next few months at least. 

I will be honest I had the Scotland vs Republic of Ireland game on at the same time as this one and I have to say I much preferred watching that game as it was a lot more exciting than the England game, Friday night for England was much more entertaining, whether that was due to the opposition or the team rotation I aren't sure but the Czech Republic definitely turned out to be a strong opponent for us that we couldn't break down. 

Even with a 0-0 draw though the unbeaten run continues and it is time for the players to head back to their clubs before returning to representing their country in November. I am really hoping Williamson and Russo are back in the November camp free from injury but I would also love to see Nobbs get another call up and get some game time as I think she would be really beneficial in the midfield. 

England can we please have some more games back up North though it would be great to see the Lionesses play live once again as getting down south is definitely a struggle these days with kick off times etc...