WATCH: Lewis Hall's England assist as Lukas Hornicek is criticised for Harry Kane goal
Lewis Hall and Lukas Hornicek both started at Wembley last night as England rounded off the international break with a comfortable 3-0 win over Czechia in the UEFA Nations League.
It was another encouraging night for Hall, who continued his run in the England team, while Hornicek had a mixed evening despite making some important saves.
How Hall and Hornicek got on at Wembley
Hall was handed his third consecutive start for England by Thomas Tuchel and once again impressed at left-back, capping off another positive international appearance with an assist.
The boyhood Toon fan delivered a tempting corner into the box early in the second half, with Harry Kane rising highest to head home and make it 3-0 at Wembley.
Watch Hall’s assist for Kane’s second goal below, which went in past our stranded No.1:
Hornicek had already produced a superb save to deny Trent Alexander-Arnold from a free-kick and also survived a heavy clash with Morgan Rogers, which had looked nasty at one point.
However, the Newcastle goalkeeper came in for criticism for his role in England’s third goal, shown above.
Commentators felt Hornicek should have come to claim Hall’s floated cross, before failing to get a strong enough hand to Kane’s header, which was palmed into the side netting.
It was still another valuable experience for the 24-year-old, who continues to establish himself as Czechia’s first-choice goalkeeper after making his competitive debut over the international break.
A positive international break for Newcastle
Overall, it has been a really positive international break from a Newcastle perspective.
Yoane Wissa has continued his excellent international form with more goals for DR Congo, while Hall has grabbed his opportunity at left-back under Tuchel and now looks to have firmly put himself into the England conversation.
Malick Thiaw also started back-to-back games for Germany and kept clean sheets in both, further strengthening his position after a strong first year on Tyneside.
Aladji Bamba has also impressed with France Under-21s, giving Newcastle another young player gaining valuable international experience after the recent lack of game time under Matthias Jaissle.
And the biggest positive could be the players returning to full fitness back in Newcastle.
Dan Burn, Joelinton, Amar Dedic, Anthony Elanga and Will Osula are all getting close to comebacks. With Lewis Miley also overcoming a knock, the squad should be in much better shape as Newcastle return to domestic action at Coventry on Monday.
