Some Czech experts have failed! The data says something completely different, the game should have gone to overtime

The players gave their best, but the Czech team was still stopped by Denmark in the quarter-finals. Losing 1::2 in Baku hurts a lot, the semifinals were closer than it seems. But perhaps even more painful is the assessment of some Czech experts.

A bad entry and a bad decision by the referees grossly affected the whole match. Denmark was a very good opponent, but quite frankly I dare say that only the opening 20 minutes were significantly better.

It is all the more striking that in the CT studio some experts claimed that Denmark deservedly won! However, the data and even our game performance for most of the game says otherwise. The game should have gone to extra time at the very least.

The circumstances of the match were clearly against us. The Czech team travelled far more during the tournament than the Danes, who had far more support in Baku, mainly because they are a far more affluent nation (there were about 5400 Danish fans in Baku).

Add on top of that the referees, who absolutely failed on the first goal and in the second half mostly attributed situations and fouls to our opponent.

Despite the defeat, the performance of the Czech team was close to the level of heroism! Nevertheless, the “experts” in the CT studio dared to say that they expected more from Tomáš Souček at the tournament.

So let’s take a look at the data and facts that show that the bleeding Soucek was outstanding and that the better team definitely did not win.

Did the better team win?

The xG indicator (number of expected goals) speaks by a narrow margin for the Czech Republic. Which basically means that it was at least a draw and the Danes were the luckier team. At the same time, a goal from a corner that shouldn’t have been is counted.

The experts also talked about the fact that we hardly had any chances. But we managed to produce 16 shots, which is the highest number ever from our matches at Euro 2020. We took 10 shots against the Scots, 11 against the Croats, 7 against England and 12 against the Dutch.

The Danes had more shots on goal and it is true that Tomas Vaclik kept us in the game several times, but still, the claim that the better opponent won is a bit baffling.

The whole failure, which hurts all the fans as much as the cruel defeat, is underlined by the fact that we dominated the possession statistics (53%). Denmark were clearly not the better team, but the happier one and that makes a big difference.

Could Soucek have played better?

Yes, unfortunately Soucek didn’t score a goal in the tournament. One of the CT experts said after the game that he expected more from the West Ham midfielder. You can always play better, of course, but the burly midfielder certainly didn’t disappoint!

Against Denmark he played 33 minutes with a bleeding splint on his head in 28 degree heat and left absolutely everything on the pitch. He didn’t mess up, on the contrary! He just didn’t score a goal, which you can’t ask for from a defensive player.

What about the data? Am I being unreasonable in defending him? The prestigious site Squawka Football has taken note of his performance:

• Most personal duels won (10) of any player on the field.
• Second most aerial duels won (6).
• Most touches with the ball in the opponent’s penalty area (6).
• Most shots (3) and most balls taken away from opponents (3).

On top of that, he produced 50 passes with 80% accuracy. If it wasn’t for the West Ham star, our game would certainly look very different.

Sources: The Analyst, WhoScored, Squawka Football