Czech Republic vs. Ukraine, draw! How does the public and coach Šilhavý react to the match?

The last part of this national break was played in the friendly match between the Czech Republic and Ukraine in Pilsen. Thanks to a last-minute goal by Matej Vydra, the match ended 1:1 and offered playing space to players who probably wouldn’t have played otherwise. How did the public and coach Jaroslav Šilhavý react to the match?

Before we get into the reactions to the friendly against Ukraine, it’s important to note the results of our qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup. Wales sensationally drew 0:0 with Estonia at home! Leaders Belgium only won 1: 0 against Belarus in Russia.

It turned out that the lament of some Czech fans that few goals were scored against Belarus in Ostrava was really irrelevant. In World Cup qualification, every win is considered a success, because national team matches are simply very specific.

Now let’s go to the public reaction! Both teams chose pretty combined line-ups, but still the domestic national team produced a decent 20 shots and wanted to win.

Which they didn’t and almost lost to Ukraine, but at least Matej Vydra saved the tie in the end.

Reaction of the public and the coach

Journalist Luděk Mádl evaluated the whole national team break and praised Matěj Vydra’s goal. It was the cynical profile Neobjektivní Novinář that sent out another classic attack.

The journalist Ondřej Zlámal was not absent at the match himself, first he closely watched the match and at the post-match press conference he interviewed the coach Jaroslav Šilhavy. Who did he appreciate for their performance?

“I watched Vladimír Coufal here under the stands for the whole second half, how he was grinding the line and never slowed down for a moment and didn’t even want to lose this friendly,” he tweeted about the former Slav player, who has been giving really superhuman performances for a long time.

Zlámal also noted the generous support of the Ukrainian fans, who came to the match in large numbers.

“We were really happy with the equaliser, even though it was not for points, we played a good match and we deserved it. We put Ukraine under pressure and had a lot of chances,” commented coach Jaroslav Šilhavy on the final result.

“The line-up? We communicated with the clubs about the players’ workload, we talked with the players about their health condition, we prepared a plan for the match. For example, Tomáš Souček would not normally make substitutions…but we prepared it and it turned out well,” he said about the circumstances that decided the lineup and substitutions during the match.

Sources: Ondřej Zlámal, Luděk Mádl, Neobjektivní Novinář