Schick shone, Soucek also excelled. What marks did the national team earn in the match against Croatia?

The Czech Republic team also managed to win their second match of the tournament. They won a valuable 1:1 draw with the strong Croats and came very close to advancing to the eight finals. Our team showed a solid team performance and won the point deservedly. Who shone the most and who failed to win the match?

Tomas Vaclik – 6

In the beginning of the match he dangerously shot the Croatian striker. Fortunately, the deflected ball went outside his goal. He made several mistakes in the midfield. He was not entitled to score. Otherwise, he held the team and didn’t disappoint.

Vladimir Coufal – 6

He was active up front, he set up Schick’s chance early on, he gave young Guardiola a hard time on the edge. Defensively, he had one unfortunate hesitation, which was ultimately fatal and ended with Perisic’s goal. Slipping on a quick opponent’s cross, the Croatian winger had more space to shoot and he put in a beautiful finish. That’s the only blemish on his otherwise very good performance.

Ondřej Čelůstka – 7

Together with Kalas, he orchestrated the defence well. He hardly let Croatia’s attackers have any chances. He won the header duels, perfectly intercepted one dangerous opponent’s centre, which Vaclik calmly picked up. He played a good game.

Tomas Kalas – 8

He has been doing well since the beginning of the tournament and he proved it again against Croatia. He kept the opponent at bay, didn’t give the Croats an inch of space, was dominant in the air. Practically flawless performance. His passing wasn’t ideal, but we can’t expect him to be too creative. At the end of the game, he made an excellent block that practically saved us the draw.

Jan Bořil – 6

He played his part. He got sloppy defensively before the end of the 1st half and it was a dangerous goal for the opponent. Defensively, he played decent, but he was zero going forward. He focused more on defensive work.

Tomas Holeš – 7

Holeš replaced Kral as a defensive midfielder and made a good debut at the Euro. With him, the midfield was more compact and more imaginative in the midfield. The team was also more successful in attack. He also made the team more dominant and skilful on the ball. A very good performance. He has claimed a place in the starting line-up for the upcoming matches.

Tomas Soucek – 8

The build-up play, creativity and devising the action stood out to him. He had a similar position to West Ham and it suited him. Dangerously fired a header just over early in the game. Towards the back a top performance. He contributed a lot to the fact that Šilhavy’s charges were able to match the opponent’s top midfield. They were often able to outplay them. Soucek played like a proper leader and the driving force of the national team.

Vladimir Darida – 6

Another average performance. It is obvious that the most offensive position of the central midfield does not suit him. He didn’t do anything special, but he didn’t mess up either. He deserves praise for constantly bothering the opponent and constantly attacking. It made our pressing more effective. It would take more creativity from him, so it’s not just Soucek.

Lukáš Masopust – 6

His main task was to help the defensive line to help the team better resist the opponent’s onslaught. He was mostly successful in doing that, except for one major blunder. After Schick’s goal, he made a huge mistake and Rebic had a chance, which he luckily burned. You can’t make unnecessary mistakes like that. Otherwise, he played his standard.

Jakub Jankto – 6

Didn’t impress or disappoint. He had a good chance from a volley in the first half but missed. We didn’t see much creativity from him. He didn’t have many bright moments. He didn’t give Schick the service he needed. He faded as time went on. A bland, bland performance.

Patrik Schick – 9

Once again, he was the best player of the game. He was whistled for a penalty, which he coolly converted even with a bleeding nose. He raced, made life difficult for the opposing defenders, managed to cover the ball well and helped the team in combination. Schick is in the form of his life at the Euros and that’s great news for the team. With 3 goals he is currently the top scorer of the tournament.

Adam Hložek – 6

Spartan’s gem came on for the last 30 minutes. He had some interesting actions, penetrations. He tried to do something else with the game. However, none of his actions worked out. Adan Hložek’s star moment at the EURU might come. But it’s not quite there yet.

Alex Kral – 6

He got similar time as Hložek and brought a fresh wind to the offensive line. He was far more creative than Darida. He even got one interesting chance, but the opponent managed to take the ball away from him. He performed better than in the previous games.

Ševčík, Krmenčík and Barák did not play enough minutes to be evaluated.