A missed opportunity or the maximum possible? How did coach Šilhavý do?

The Czech team’s journey at Euro 2020 ended in the quarterfinals. The Czechs narrowly lost to Denmark in an evenly contested match. The Czech national team repeated the same result they achieved at Euro 2012. It is also the 2nd best result at a European Championship in the 21st century. The final quarter-final is a great success for Soucek and co. However, the Czechs could have realistically thought about the semi-finals. Was it a waste of a unique opportunity or did they just not have enough for the Danes? What did coach Šilhavy do well and what did he falter in? What is the future of the Czech national team?

Quarterfinals at the Euro? Great result!

Before the tournament started, the Czech team was not in a great position. The preparation was not very good, several key players were injured, and a wave of criticism descended on the performance of the stoppers. The domestic football public did not trust the Czech national team very much. Even considering how difficult the group was.

The strength of the opponents was obvious. England, Croatia, Scotland. The Czechs were definitely not among the favourites of the group, and that might have suited them quite well. They faced a nasty Scotland to start. They won the group’s key match 2-0. A lot of credit for the triumph went to the famous Vaclik and Schick and also to the dedicated defence. This win calmed and encouraged the team. Thanks to the extended format of the tournament, promotion was suddenly quite close.

Then the Czechs faced the favoured Croatia. Coach Šilhavy decided to field Holeš, which rapidly elevated the team’s performance. Soucek and co. did very well against the favourite. They even outplayed them at times. In the end, they won a valuable point, which secured their advancement to the eight finals. In the last match of the group against England, it wasn’t much of a contest. Both teams were guaranteed to qualify. The only question was from which position they would advance. In the end, England won 1: 0 and secured promotion from 1st place.

In the eighth round, the Czech national team faced the strong Netherlands. A difficult draw, but at the same time quite playable. The Czechs have developed into a confident team during the tournament, which does not break anything down, looks compact, cohesive and is able to do everything for the success of the team. It had all the attributes that are far more important than individual quality and star quality in big tournaments. The likes of Portugal or France could tell you about it.

The coach of the Czech team made some forced changes that proved to be correct in the duel against the Netherlands. The Czechs stood up to the opponent’s unpleasant pressure and managed to match their opponent’s game over time. The chances of advancing were still very realistic. Then we all know it. Vaclik pulled off a key save, then De Ligt scored on a breakaway and the Czechs gained a huge advantage. Thanks to goals from Holes and Schick, they made the most of it and sensationally advanced to the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals were handed to the Czechs by the erratic Danes. A team that played a similar style, emphasized teamwork and gave a strong Belgium quite a beating. The northerners, however, did not give the threatening impression that Spain, Italy or England would have. There was definitely a chance of reaching the semi-finals. However, the Czechs undermined those hopes in the dressing room before the match started. Šilhavý returned the exhausted Bořil to the line-up, which turned out to be a pointless decision.

The opening of the quarterfinal was also a failure. They cashed in from a corner in the 5th minute, and that was water on the opponent’s mill. Before the break, the opponent increased the score to 2:0 and put the Czechs in a difficult situation. The aforementioned Bořil had a big part in the goal. The Czechs managed to reduce the deficit after the break with a goal by Schick, but not to equalise. The opponent played defensively flawlessly, narrowly winning the game and deservedly advancing to the semi-finals.

Reaching the quarterfinals is definitely an achievement. The Czech team can evaluate this EURO very positively. It is the second best achievement in this century. It is not a rule that the Czechs are among the best in every big tournament. Several times they have even finished after the group stage, so the quarter-finals must be taken with all ten hands.

Also, it must not be forgotten that Soucek and co. did not leave the tournament in ideal comfort. The performance was not ideal, several important players got injured, plus some unpleasant flyovers. The team had a lot of problems. The question mark hung over the form of Vaclik, the stoppers, whether Schick could fulfil his potential. However, the Czechs managed to deal with their shortcomings and their good run ended in the quarterfinals. For that they deserve a big thanks.

However, the question arises whether it could have gone further. After all, when you get Denmark in the EURA quarter-finals, you definitely think about reaching the semi-finals. It was a unique opportunity that was missed. The fundamental mistake was the deployment of Boril.

This player didn’t play well the whole tournament. Kadeřábek, on the other hand, played brilliantly against the Dutch. Still, Šilhavý preferred to put Bořil on. He did not guard his opponent from a break and Denmark increased to 2: 0. He definitely has his share of blame for this goal. The Czechs otherwise played a solid game, even outplaying their opponents.

However, the latter confirmed that it is not a coincidence that they are ranked 10th in the world rankings. The Danes defended the narrow lead masterfully and made perfect use of their main strengths. Taking into account all the problems of the Czech team, the quarter-final is a great success. However, one can’t help feeling that the semi-final was really close and this missed opportunity will be very disappointing for some time to come.

How did coach Šilhavy do?

First of all, it is important to mention that the Czech coach has a huge contribution to the success of the whole team. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Any speculations about him staying on the bench of the Czech national team are absolutely misguided. Šilhavý is often criticized for being too sterile and not rotating the squad. On the contrary, these attributes were an advantage at this tournament. It paid off that he trusted his team. The Czechs looked compact, they were dedicated in the matches, they pulled together. They acted like a real team and that is why they achieved such success.

They also deserve praise for their reaction after the Scotland game. The Czech midfield didn’t work as it should have and that’s why he sent Holeš into the starting line-up instead of Kral. This decision was hugely important and the team’s play picked up rapidly. We also need to mention his confidence in Čelůstka and Kalas. Both of them were highly criticized, but Šilhavy trusted them and both of them repaid his trust with excellent performances.

It was also important to set the right position for Soucek. He was pulled more towards the stoppers to help them with both defensive and midfield duties. He also deserves a lot of praise for the lineup change against the Netherlands. All the substitutes played great and had a big part in the triumph of the Czech team.

However, Šilhavý also made some decisions during the tournament that didn’t work out too well. The perpetual deployment of Darida did not improve the team, rather it brought down the whole offense. Darida was invisible, didn’t give the team any ideas and even his workrate wasn’t as important as it seemed at first. After his injury he was replaced by Barak and with him the whole offense was much more dangerous and imaginative.

Another thing that didn’t work out completely was his misplaced substitutions. The substitutes didn’t get as many opportunities as they could have. Especially in the game against Denmark it was blatant. The Czechs desperately needed to score, but their two best strikers didn’t even get into the game. Hložek stayed only in the stands and the productive Pekhart didn’t get a chance at all at the expense of Krmencik.

However, Šilhavy made a bigger mistake before the start of the quarterfinal. Deploying Boril was not the right choice. Absolutely pointless decision. Kadeřábek played great against the Dutch. There was no reason to withdraw him. Bořil looked exhausted throughout the tournament, he was not keeping up, he was playing far below his potential. Which was also evident against the Danes, when he got some credit for the second goal he scored. Denmark played their break brilliantly and it’s hard to say whether Kadeřábek would have done better, yet Bořil’s deployment was definitely wrong.

Overall, however, the positives prevail. The goal was to advance out of the group, and they did. The quarter-finals are definitely over-planned. Even though the game creaked at times, the final result is better than many expected. Coach Šilhavý has done his job and is the main contributor to the Czech success. So far, there have been no exaggerated expectations for his team. Let’s see if he can build on this result when there is much more pressure on his team.

What is the future of the Czech national team?

The current team is at an ideal age. Most of the players are under 30 years old. The Czech national team can go up in the next few years. In addition, the World Cup in Qatar will take place in a year’s time and hopefully the Czechs will be there. A generational change is definitely not necessary now. It should be a gradual process. Eventually, big prospects like Hložek, Zima, Karabec should be added to the team. Kolář will probably become the new number one. At the moment, Soucek and co. have it interesting.

This generation definitely hasn’t hit its performance ceiling yet. Can they still improve on their quarterfinal finish at Euro 2020? It’s hard to say, several important factors will influence this. Both in terms of play and quality, this squad has what it takes. The Czechs haven’t had such a strong generation for a long time. It would be a shame not to get more out of it than this team is capable of. The European Championship quarter-finals could be the perfect springboard for these ambitions.

Source: Euro 2020