Summary of the national team meeting: 4 games and 4 points. What was the Czechs’ performance against the favourites?

The Czech footballers were not favourites in any of the matches. Nevertheless, they collected 4 points from 4 matches. They managed to surprise and surprise their opponents. The key to success was always productivity, because statistics like ball possession or shots on goal never worked in our favour.

The Czechs played their first game of the Nations League on June 2 in Eden, Prague, where they hosted Switzerland. Kuchta scored in the 11th minute to open the scoring. One minute before the break, however, Okafor managed to equalise.

The first half ended in a 1-1 draw and the statistics were very similar. The second half was again decided by a relatively early goal. A shot from Jankt’s centre flew through the penalty area and went behind the back post of Sommer’s goal. This took place in the 58th minute, the goal was registered as an own goal.

For the rest of the game, Switzerland had the upper hand. This was reflected in the final numbers. The Czechs held the ball only 41% of the time and the shots on goal ratio was 3:7 after the final whistle. The mainstay in goal, Tomas Vaclik, had a big share of the 3 points. And the first surprise was in the world.

The second one was born 3 days later in the same place. This time the opponent was a strong Spain. Kuchta was again on the opening goal, although “only” as a passer. And again it fell very early, even in the 4th minute. After a beautiful cross Kuchta escaped the defence and passed the ball to Pesek, who made no mistake.

Last minute before the half time whistle and the same song again. The Spaniards equalised thanks to Gavi in the third set minute of the first act. So again the score was 1:1 at half time. Kuchta scored in the 66th minute, assisted by Cerny.

With a beautiful lob he overcame the visiting goalkeeper in an independent break. He was in the same situation a few minutes earlier, but chose the option of shooting and the ball just missed the right post. But Repete did well.

Just like the end of the first half, the end of the second half didn’t go well either. In the 90th minute, Martinez scored to set the final score at 2-2. Getting both goals in the last minutes of the half may seem harsh. However, it must be admitted that the Spaniards had a lot of pressure and hit the post 3 times before the equalizer.

The division of points is probably fair. Here too, the statistics were clearly in favour of our opponent. The Spaniards overwhelmingly dominated the possession of the ball. 73% of the time they had it on their hoofs. Total shots from the Czech perspective 3::12 and shots on goal 2::5. The visiting goalkeeper was therefore untouched. What went in the goal ended up in the goal.

3. the game marked the first time the team moved. Specifically, to Lisbon, where on 9 June over 44,000 fans were waiting at Estádio José Alvalade, all looking forward to seeing the big stars of world football, with which the Portuguese line-up is really loaded. Cristiano Ronaldo himself also joined the match.

The game was reminiscent of the one against the Spanish. The opponent had the ball most of the time and the game was more often on our side of the field than on the opponent’s. In the first half, Cancelo and Guedes came through. In the second half, the Portuguese didn’t press and just took advantage of the open spaces in our defence, which appeared more and more often as time went on.

Hložek or Kuchta had their chances, but unlike the previous duels, this time we lacked accuracy in finishing. It is also worth mentioning the unnecessary intervention of Cristiano Ronaldo, for which he saw a yellow card in the 52nd minute and could have been happy. We’ve seen similar interventions like the one he made on Jemelka get a card of a different colour.

12.on the 6th, the last game of this series was played. It was a rematch with Spain. The match was hosted by Malaga. The Czechs did not enter the match badly at all. Thanks to high pressing, they had 2 chances. In the first one, Simon Cerny made an interesting shot. A few moments later Kuchta again got a good chance after a 70 meter long breakout, but his ground shot did not go into the net.

And so it was the turn of the old saying you don’t give, you get. From the first shot between the three posts, which came in the 24th minute, the Spaniards took the lead. After a pass from Asensio, Soler split the net. It was also a good start to the second act. The Czechs continued to attack and be active. Pešek had a chance in the 49th minute. But his attempt ended up over the crossbar. Coach Šilhavy’s squad created other promising positions, but no goal was scored and the opponent was punished again.

In the 75th minute, a pair of substitutes in red adjusted the score to 2:0. Torres started the action and Sarabia finished. Again, the ball belonged to the opponent. The possession statistics traditionally go against the Czechs, with a 72::28% ratio. Shots on goal 4::3. In terms of chances, it was not so clear-cut, but this is not true of passes. The home team made 876 of them, the Czechs about a third.

Overall, this national team cycle is not entirely clear-cut. The Czechs are clear outsiders in their group and so we cannot expect any points harvest. In their matches, the Czech national team presented sympathetic performances and, if the situation allowed it, also a courageous and offensive game. The first 2 duels were also excellent in terms of productivity.

The four points gained are actually not bad at all, considering the course of the individual matches. Kuchta, who is also fighting for his engagement, showed in an excellent light. Similarly, Alex King showed his readiness in the final game. Brabec, Lingr and others also played well. In a very tough group we definitely have something to look forward to. In the matches against these opponents, the real stars of world football are running around the pitch.

Source: Twitter, Livesport