It was the biggest game for me, says Šilhavý. Against the Danes, an even tougher duel awaits

The Czech Republic defeated the Netherlands to reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship. Coach Jaroslav Šilhavy admitted at the press conference that it was the biggest game of his coaching career so far. But now he has to prepare the team for Denmark.

The Czech Republic managed to defeat the Netherlands 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Euros. “It was the best game for me. The most prestigious and the biggest. I told the players that it was up to us to do it,” said coach Jaroslav Šilhavy.

The former Slavia coach was aware that individual performances would also jump out thanks to the team performance, which was confirmed. Šilhavý sang odes especially to Tomáš Vaclík and Tomáš Holeš. But he praised all his charges.

According to Šilhavý, Holeš is rightfully the player of the match. His performance was not surprising: ” He also gave such performances in Slavia, for example against Arsenal. But now it was even better. He not only stopped attacks, but also scored a goal. When he signalled that he had cramps, he sprinted and passed for the second goal. Then he went on to make a deserved substitution, it was a fabulous performance.”

Šilhavy was very successful with his lineup changes. Both Pavel Kadeřábek and Petr Ševčík gave very good performances. The same was true for Antonín Barák.

After the match, the Dutch fans applauded the winners. ” I remember that the Dutch fans can do that and they can appreciate the opponents as well. We had goosebumps when we took the field. We are really happy that everyone who came to see us was there for our progress.”

The Czech Republic will now play Denmark in the quarter-finals, having to travel all the way to distant Baku for the match. “We are happy to fly there because it means we have advanced,” Šilhavý is not looking for negatives.

Šilhavý then believes his charges are capable of upsetting the Danes. “I think it will be an even tougher match. The Danes are slowly getting on a winning streak and they showed it with Wales. We are not expecting anything easy. We have to prepare for it, we will definitely fight for promotion,” promises the national coach.

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