England win another corner but it's not Chloe Kelly's best effort, failing to beat the Czech player at the front post.

She'll have another opportunity but this time it beats everyone.

Faye White
Ex-England captain on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

England haven't really had a lot of control in possession because the Czech Republic are winning the ball back and disrupting their play.

It's still early days though.

Lauren James is out to impress tonight, breezing her way down the left flank and delivering a dangerous cross.

England can't quite make anything of it, though, but promising signs from the Chelsea youngster so far.

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It's all calmed down a bit after that high-octane start.

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Faye White
Ex-England captain on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

The Czech Republic can be a handful and they could cause some problems for England tonight.

Ben Miller
BBC Sport at Amex Community Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

That early burst of Czech Republic pressure temporarily quelled the expectant atmosphere around this stadium, but Chloe Kelly and Lauren James' attacks on either flank have comprehensively revived the mood of excitement.

Visiting manager Karel Rada, in a coat and trainers, has been on his feet throughout so far. The former international looks jovial and has had plenty to say to his bench about England's succession of attacks.

The industrious Lauren Hemp wins England another corner.

The Czech Republic deal with that one confidently, though.

Now England have a corner! Alex Greenwood takes, but the Czech defence deal with it well.

Lauren James picks it up on the left though, drives forward and cannons a shot off the post!

Almost an early goal on James' first Lionesses start...

A bit of early pressure from the visitors, who win themselves a corner off Millie Bright.

England deal with the initial threat but the ball comes back in and Klara Cahynova fires over the bar.

The England players take the knee and Lauren Hemp gets us under way in Brighton.

Right, the players are out and the anthems are done.

We're nearly ready to get going.

Image source, Getty Images

Ben Miller
BBC Sport at Amex Community Stadium

The flags of both nations are out on the turf nearest the tunnel. The mascots are either side of the halfway line and we've just witnessed the first pyrotechnic display of the evening, with four flames intermittently billowing out by the touchline on the opposite end of the pitch from the dressing rooms.

A huge Three Lions flag is being fanned over the centre circle. Inevitably, Gala's Freed from Desire is playing. All that's left now is for the players to emerge!

• This will be the fifth meeting between England and Czech Republic, with the Lionesses going unbeaten in the previous four (W3 D1), winning the most recent meeting in November 2019 (3-2 under Phil Neville).
• The Lionesses have won five of their six games in Brighton (L1), beating both Norway (8-0) and Spain (2-1) in their most recent two games there at this year’s European Championships.
• England remain unbeaten under Wiegman (P23 W21 D2) and are coming into this game on a 15-game winning streak, scoring 120 goals under the Dutchwoman, conceding just six.
• Beth Mead has both scored (13) and assisted (8) more goals than any other player for the Lionesses in 2022, netting in her only previous appearance against Czech Republic in November 2019.

Faye White
Ex-England captain on BBC Radio 5 Live

On Lucy Bronze ...

"What a fine player. She's just so driven and technical. To win 100 caps, especially as a defender, is just brilliant!"

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England are favourites to win tonight but that doesn't mean Sarina Wiegman's side will have it all their own way against an in-form Czech Republic.

Following a run of seven games without a win in all competitions (D3 L4), the Czechs come into this match on a three-game unbeaten run.

That sequence involved 6-0 and 7-0 wins over Cyprus and Belarus respectively, while they also netted three times in Friday's 3-3 draw with Hungary.

Ranked 28th in the world, the Czech Republic missed out on World Cup qualification after finishing third in qualifying behind the Netherlands and Iceland.

They twice held the Dutch to draws during the qualifiers, though, so tonight's game should be an intriguing test for England.

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England centurion-to-be Lucy Bronze's relatives have had to go a few extra miles in the hope of seeing the defender make the landmark.

“My brother is coming from Sheffield with his family," the 30-year-old said.

"Before the Euros, I got an illness from my niece and I missed a game, so he’s saying, ‘we have to come all the way to Brighton to see you get your 100th cap when it should have been at Wembley [against the USA on Friday]!’

“It’s obviously a huge achievement and is something I will probably only look back at the end of my career and think ‘that’s amazing.’

"It’s 100 caps but I want 101, 102, 103, 104… to keep going. A hundred caps wasn’t a goal I had at the start of my career, so to have made it is pretty incredible.”

Who's excited to see what Lauren James can do on her first England start?

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ITV

Ian Wright speaking on ITV about Lauren James' first start: "I'm really excited for her because she has raw, natural talent. She has to keep fighting for her place.

"You need players who can take players out of the game with ability and skill and that's what she has. It's the ability we need.

"You need other players who can break and open teams up. I'm really glad she's playing because she gives us that something else."

England

England boss Sarina Wiegman talking to ITV:

On Georgia Stanway not being in the squad tonight: "It's nothing serious but she didn't recover well from Friday's game. So she hasn't trained and we don't want to take any risks.

"She hardly had any time off after the Euros because of her going to her new club in Germany. She also has so many games coming up so we just don't want to take any risks."

On Lucy Bronze reaching her 100th England cap: "I've coached many good players but of course she's one of the best players. It's going to be a big occasion for her."

On what they're hoping to get from the game: "We have some differences in the line-up and different combinations of players together. Czech are a very physical and direct team, so we expect a tough and physical game, but we still want to dominate the game. We want to be in our half of the pitch and totally dominate."

Ben Miller
BBC Sport at Amex Community Stadium

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Anyone trying to deduce a difference in approaches between the teams might not succeed by watching the warm-ups. Both sets of players have been going through short passing drills interspersed by two lines of cones.

Meanwhile, the Let Girls Play campaign - aiming to break down barriers and stereotypes that could stop players from participating in football - is firing t-shirts into the growing crowd to the tune of Beyonce's Run the World (Girls).

Not long to wait!