Comment: classically conservative nomination of Šilhavy. Which of his favourites did not deserve an invitation in September?

Comment: Jaroslav Šilhavý nominated an experienced and relatively old team for the final battles of the Czech national team in the Nations League. The duels with Portugal and Switzerland will not involve Jan Sýkora or David Jurásek, but some long-time stalwarts are in the nomination.

The most glaring is the nomination of winger Jakub Jankt. The left-footed Sparta summer signing from Getafe has been struggling with injuries for the last few months, but when healthy, he has always featured in Šilhavy’s nomination.

This time the situation is different. Jankto has been healthy since signing for Sparta and is starting regularly, but his performance is certainly not up to the level of the national team at the moment, although Jankto has never disappointed Šilhavy in the national team. But if anyone from Sparta’s midfield deserved an invitation to the national team, it would be Kryštof Daněk.

As far as Sparta’s arch rivals are concerned, only Petr Ševčík and Lukáš Masopust from Slavia made the nomination this time. Masopust scored against Cesky Budejovice on Sunday, but it was the first time in a year and a half that he had done so in the league.

His advantage is his variability and hard work, in Slavia he plays the role of a runner who works hard. His productivity is worse, but against Portugal his interplay with Vladimir Coufal can be useful.

There are a couple of questions in defence, or at least two. Is the Indonesian league enough of a test for Ondrej Kudela? And did the defensive versatile Jaroslav Zelený’s performance in Sparta earn him the nomination?

The first part of the question will only be answered by the games themselves, the second is difficult to judge. Zelený had both good and bad games, but he proved his worth at the last meeting. He would fit in a three-man defence, but not as a left back or stopper in a four-man system.

Finally, we can’t not mention Jan Kuchta. He hasn’t scored a single goal since his transfer to Sparta, but on the other hand, he went to the June national team meeting undefeated and ended up being the main star of the team. He is trusted in the national team and I understand his nomination at the expense of Stanislav Tecl.

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