Cleaner Čelůstka and wall Kalas silenced the critics. At the Euros, they look cohesive and confident

“We have no chance without the stoppers, three losses and bye-bye.” Such messages were flying through the Czech internet before the start of the European Championship. But after four games, Ondřej Čelůstka and Tomáš Kalas surpassed all expectations.

The stopper position was probably the most talked about before the tournament started. After the non-nomination of Ondrej Kudela due to a penalty for alleged racism, none of the four stoppers proved their worth in the preparation. It was not surprising when the graphic design of the line-up for the match against the Scots was much maligned by Jaroslav Šilhavý, who had appointed the pair of Ondřej Čelůstka and Tomáš Kalas.

But this pair of stoppers managed the match from the beginning. Yes, there were a few mistakes and Kalas almost scored a goal of his own, but he compensated for it with a few great blocks. Blocks are what the experienced defender excels at, especially since he has been playing in the English second division for many years.

Čelůstka and Kalas also managed the second game against the Croats, when the only goal did not fall after their mistake. If anything was a bit shaky, it was the passing, but it was definitely not a tragedy. They helped to draw 1:1 with a reliable performance.

In the last match, the Czech Republic lost to England 0:1, but the defensive line did not disappoint. Tomáš Vaclík caught the ball out of the net only twice in the group phase, which was not expected given the quality of the opponents.

The eighth round was definitely the best match from the point of view of our stoppers. Kalas and Čelůstka eliminated Memphis Depay and Donyell Malen, two fast and technical players. Barcelona’s reinforcements had two bright moments, but otherwise both defenders played very well.

Cellestra won a number of important balls, Kalas again blocked what he could, plus assisted the decisive goal. Kalas was number seven in blocks. Just for comparison, Čelůstka has two and the well-playing Martin Hinteregger has three.

The Spartan defender dominates the statistics of intercepted balls, with 26 he is the tenth of all Euro players, Vladimir Coufal is the fifth with 28. A solid business card for the much-criticised Čelůstka.

Now the tried and tested duo will face an unpleasant Denmark. Will “the cleaner” Čelůstka and “the blocker” Kalas help to complete the hat-trick of clean sheets and thus qualify for the semi-finals?

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