The second-half substitute shuffled hesitantly before shooting weakly wide of the left-hand post, thereby failing to earn the full quota of points for the Three Lions.

England were fortunate to come away with a point and had been badly exposed before Lita's late miss, benefiting from poor finishing by the Czech Republic and needing several outstanding saves by Scott Carson to stay in the game.

England's clearest chances fell to David Nugent, who also won the penalty with a neat flick that was handled by Roman Hubnik, but the Preston North End striker must improve his finishing if he is to thrive in the top flight after his proposed move to Everton.

"We had opportunities to seal the game so are disappointed, but we can play better," coach Stuart Pearce said. "The game was there to be won but we weren't good enough. On Thursday we have to do better in what will be a tougher game [against Italy]." Italy, though, fared even worse than England last night, losing 1-0 to Serbia in their opening match.

Carson will pass Jamie Carragher and Gareth Barry's joint record of 27 caps in England's final group game, against Serbia, although that match in Nijmegen on Sunday could be where England's interest in the competition ends.

Without his first-choice central defensive pairing, Pearce moved Nedum Onuoha, a right back, into the middle alongside Gary Cahill, with mixed results. The fledgeling partnership was carved open twice in the first half, Jan Kysela being denied by a good save by Carson and an important block from Cahill, the Aston Villa defender.

England improved in the second half as the impressive Nigel Reo-Coker began to dominate in midfield, with Nugent flashing a header wide from a cross by James Milner and shooting across goal, but their control of possession was undermined by vulnerability at the other end. Martin Fillo blasted over the bar with only Carson to beat after dispossessing the disappointing Kieran Richardson, while the goalkeeper did well to tip Daniel Pudil's free kick on to a post.

Richardson was replaced by Wayne Routledge after 57 minutes and showed his displeasure by marching down the tunnel without speaking to Pearce, who claimed he was seeking the sanctuary of an ice bath. The Manchester United winger's cousin, Charley, has been performing with greater distinction in the Big Brother house and, on this evidence, could spend longer in the spotlight than England this summer.

Away at Nijmegen, Serbia seized the early initiative in the group B as Dejan Milovanovic's fine second-half strike earned three points against five-time winners Italy.

In what is widely considered the oldest city in the Netherlands, the new generation of continental superstars showed how one of football's strongest traditions - the failure to take chances proving costly - still holds true in the modern game. Italy spurned three excellent first-half opportunities and were made to pay 18 minutes into the second half when Milovanovic, one of four Serbia players on show who were involved in the 2004 final defeat by Italy, drilled in the only goal from distance.