Shilhavy: I’m not going to lie, the loss of supports is a problem. But we take it as a fact and we trust all the players

The Czech national football team will face a barrage at the World Cup in Qatar on Thursday. Jaroslav Šilhavy will be missing several mainstays for the duel against Sweden, which he admits is a big problem. However, he has confidence in all the players he has nominated.

Since last year’s successful Euros, Šilhavý has had to cut several mainstays. The entire starting defence of Coufal, Čelůstka, Kalas, Bořil, also the reliable Kadeřábek. The biggest loss is the absence of Patrik Schick, the Czechs’ top scorer.

“I won’t lie, losing the mainstays is a problem. However, we have to take it as a fact, we believe in the players we nominated. We believe that we will fight for the promotion and we are capable of advancing to the World Cup,” Šilhavy told the Czech national team’s YouTube channel .

It is the defence that worries him the most. After the aforementioned foursome drops out, the players who have never played together are likely to play together.

The role of the absent mainstays will have to be taken by others. Schick will have to be replaced by Hložek or Kuchta. The role of defensive leader could be taken over by Tomáš Holeš, who excels in this position in Slavia.

Sweden is a very strong opponent. The Czechs will have to work hard in their pursuit of qualification for the World Cup.

“With Sweden, just as we played Denmark in the quarter-finals of the Euros, it seems to me that they are not as big a name for the public as Spain or Italy. But they have a very good team, they play simple football in a 4-4-2 formation, they play fast up top, they have very good players. In addition, the Swedes have managed to advance with very strong teams in their history, so nothing easy awaits us,” Šilhavý points out.

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